Fate
by KDMOSP
Summary: The team has found JJ, and found out what was done to her. Can they save her life before the UNSUB returns to finish the job?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I'm back! Please review:**

Calleigh Lucas sat in the trauma room, staring intently at the chart in front of her and the patient laying critically ill to her right. The patient that had been brought in just over three hours ago and who Calleigh had spent every moment with since. The mystery patient. The cops had arrived shortly afterwards, but Lucas had been too busy trying to save a life to speak with them. Apparently, they had gotten bored and told one of the nurses that they'd be back later. So, she had waited. Waited by her patient's side, watching the machines report back critical information. Her patient, her mystery patient with no known identity, the mystery patient who arrived nude, badly beaten, malnourished and comatose. The patient who couldn't be much older then Lucas herself.

"Calleigh?" A deep voice startled her from her thoughts and she looked up to see the lead trauma surgeon staring down at her.

"Ross." She nodded, handing him the chart. "She isn't stable enough, she wont even make the trip upstairs." She whispered.

He nodded, glancing at the chart. "Jesus," he whispered, his eyes darting back and forth between the patient and the chart. "She shouldn't be alive…"

"I know. The police want to talk, said they'd be back; that was a few hours ago."

"Have you told the family?" He asked gently, knowing he didn't have a job here. This patient wouldn't survive surgery. He doubted she'd survive the next hour.

Calleigh sniffed and shook her head. She was an experienced doctor but this case was getting to her already. She sunk into Ross's arms as she felt them wrap around her. She allowed herself to cry into her husband's chest, silent tears as he gently rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. "No, she doesn't even have an identity. We have no idea who she is."

"The police will be able to figure it out," Ross offered soothingly.

Calleigh shook her head. "In time? You know how the police work here; they'll take the report and we may or may not hear from a detective in a week."

"Its not their fault, Cal. Crime is up and they are underfunded; they are doing what they can with what they have. They can take DNA, fingerprints- there are ways to identify her. That's their job and they can do it. Someone is missing her."

Calleigh nodded grateful for her husband. "She's been tortured, Ross. Her injuries… the pain she must have been in."

Ross nodded as he looked over the woman. Blood coated her hair, her ears, nose and eyes. Her nose had been broken and he knew that was the least of it. The woman's arrival and condition was already making its rounds through the hospital and it would be a matter of time before other staff started trickling in to get a look at her. "Cal, you…" he paused. "Cal, I cannot take her to surgery. She won't survive."

Calleigh nodded, wiping the tears. "I don't know why she is getting to me, she is a stranger, just another patient…"

"Because you are human, that's why. You still care about your patients, you see them as people not just strangers. Its okay to care Cal." He paused. "Are you going to be okay when she…"

Calleigh nodded. "Yeah, I will. I just want someone to call her by her name one more time. I don't want her to die without her name."

Ross smiled at her and brought her in closer one more time before giving her a soft kiss. "I'm just going to look her over, okay?"

Calleigh nodded, "just be gentle. I think I cataloged all her injuries but there were so many."

Ross nodded and pulled the drapes around them and their patient before gently pulling the blanket and gown away. "Hi there." He was a kind doctor who was known for always talking to his patients, even the ones who couldn't hear him. "Sweetheart, my name is Ross, I am a surgeon here. I am just going to look you over okay? I won't hurt you." Carefully, he pressed his stethoscope to her heart and closed his eyes. Her heart was tired, he could tell that; the machines were doing all the work for her. She was, in every sense of the word, on life support. He then gently looked at her arms, both broken and splinted; her legs had been broken, her pelvis was shattered. The amount of pain this woman had to be in was astronomical. It was better if she was comatose. It was when he got to her hands, that he noticed her fingers and the burns on all of them.

"Sadistic." Calleigh whispered. "Whoever did this was sadistic. They burned off her fingerprints."

Ross nodded and gently placed her hands back down as he continued his exam. Gently, he began to examine her neck, carefully avoiding the trach that had been placed. He shook his head, a trach had been placed to breathe for her. They couldn't do it the normal way, her throat had been too damaged.

"Spinal fracture, too." Calleigh whispered, watching as her husband carefully moved his hands along the woman's body. "L1-L3."

Ross took a deep breath. "You know they'll ask for a rape kit. Has it been done?"

Calleigh shook her head, "No, we were too busy trying to keep her alive. I don't want to put any additional stress on her body. Id rather hold off on it is possible." She stood up and helped her husband carefully cover the woman with a blanket, mindful of the multiple tubes and wires.

"Call…" Ross started but was interrupted by the door opening.

"Dr. Lucas?" It was Tina, the charge nurse. The nurse who had found the woman dumped outside their hospital near the dumpster. "Dr. Lucas, the police are here. Can they come in?"

"Yes." She stood up and quickly rubbed her eyes as two police officers walked in.

They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw their victim. "Holy shit." One of them whispered.

"What do you need?" Calleigh asked anger burning inside her as they gaped at the condition of the woman.

"We just need to know her condition, if you found anything?" One of them asked, pulling out a notepad.

"Her condition? Look at her! She's been tortured, her fingernails are missing, her fingerprints have been burned off!" She raised her eyebrows as one of the officers took out his phone and began snapping pictures of the victim.

"She gonna live?" One of them asked.

"No." Ross spoke up. "She won't; that's why we need a detective here that can do their job. Her family needs to be here to let her go."

"It's Christmas. Not sure how many detectives we have right now; but Ill see if we can get a homicide detective over here." He paused and looked at the two doctors. "don't let her die until the detective can get here, alright?"

And the cops left leaving the two doctors alone with their patient.

"She looks like a Jennifer," Calleigh whispered, as she stood smoothing her patients hair back. "We have to call her something."

"Then we'll call her Jennifer." Ross agreed gently tucking the blanket closer around their patient. "Its Christmas, Calleigh. Lets go get some dinner." He tried to pull her away but she stopped.

"My shift is over," she sniffed, "we can't leave her on Christmas. What if.. lets make her last Christmas a decent one."

Ross smiled and pulled up another chair to sit besides his wife. "She won't be alone, Calleigh."

And the two of them sat there, eyes glued to the monitors that reported their patients deteriorating condition. It was only a matter of time- but at least she was with people who wouldn't hurt her anymore.

Over three hundred miles away, a little boy was asking Santa to bring his momma home for Christmas. A distraught husband was asking for his Christmas miracle. And the lights of the BAU office remained on as a unit chief stared out his window- hoping for the safe return of his young agent.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you all for your reviews, they are so appreciated. If you have read my stories, you know I pick on JJ. I plan on updating this story pretty quickly and will try and get it established before I return to work. I also wanted to thank everyone for your support.

Matt Kindred stood outside the emergency room, sipping from his now stone cold cup of coffee. He had received a call from a patrol officer alerting him to a homicide. When Matt had asked where the body was, he was shocked to hear that the vic was at the hospital. Apparently, still alive. He had bristled a bit, hating the rookie for waking him in the middle of the night for a case that wasn't even his territory. He was a homicide detective not some lame ass general detective. But then the rookie had redeemed himself when he told Matt that the doctors didn't think she'd live and by her condition alone, it was easy to tell something had happened.

"Look detective, I aint no doctor, but from what I saw- that woman is your crime scene. She is in horrific shape." He paused. "We took some photos, we'll send 'em over."

Matt's interest had peaked. He hadn't had a good homicide in a few months and when the pictures arrived to his phone, his stomach dropped. The rookie was right. This wasn't a homicide case; but it would be in a matter of hours. He had called the rookie back and ordered him to stay with the victim, at least until he could get there.

Kissing his sleeping wife goodbye, he had dressed in jeans and sweater before calling his partner. That was half an hour ago, and now, Matt stood waiting for Clyde to arrive. They had been partners for a bit over two years now and it had not been sunshine and rainbows. There was something off about Clyde and as much as he tried, Matt could not put his finger on it. They had never been friends but didn't despise one another; they tolerated each other's company. What mattered was that they solved cases and they were damn good at that. That was what mattered. That was what counted.

"C'mon Clyde." Matt groaned as he looked at his watch. Clyde was running late. Again. Matt was growing tired of it and while he did not like to cause conflict, this was getting to the point that it was interfering with his work. "Damn." He shook his head and gave up on his partner before walking into the emergency room. His victim couldn't wait.

The ER was empty, something he rarely saw. "Excuse me," Matt walked up to the security desk. "Detective Kindred, I got a call about a hom… a victim."

"Say no more, detective." The elderly guard stood up and motioned for him to follow him. "She's in a bad way, doctors wont leave her side. Poor thing. Beautiful girl." He paused outside a trauma room door and held the door open. "Detective, she's only been here for a few hours and already has this hospital wrapped around her fingers. Get whoever did this…"

Matt nodded and walked into the room. "Doctor?" He asked, looking at the woman in front of him.

She looked up immediately at him and then saw his badge. "Detective, I didn't think they'd send someone over for a while…"

"This came in as a priority." He walked closer his eyes taking in what he was seeing. The pictures didn't do any justice. "Matt Kindred, im a homicide detective." He stuck out his hand for the doctor.

Calleigh took it, "Dr. Calleigh Lucas, I am one of the ER physicians." She paused and Matt looked down. "Homicide?"

Matt nodded. "Unless you think she may…"

"No. She won't. It'll take a miracle. What can I help you with?" Calleigh's voice dropped ever so slightly.

"Can you tell me what happened? How she got here? Her condition? Anything that can help me? Nothing is insignificant. " He spoke softly, kindly. He could tell this doctor was attached to this patient.

"I don't have much. One of our nurses found her outside near the dumpster; like someone had tried to throw her…." She paused and took a deep breath. "Like someone had tried to throw her away." As she finished her sentence, the room doors swung open and Ross walked in, carrying a plastic bag and two cups of what Matt assumed to be coffee. "This is my husband, his is one of the trauma surgeons here." Calleigh introduced the two men. "Ross, this is Detective Matt Kindred." The two men shook hands and Calleigh continued on as Ross went and checked on their patient.

"And nobody saw anything?" It didn't surprise him- people didn't come forward unless a reward was offered.

"Not that we have heard about. We think she was out there for at least an hour before she was found. She was severely hypothermic. She was found right behind the dumpster; the only reason she was found was because our nurse was cleaning out her car and needed the dumpster." Ross explained.

"Lucky for that." Matt replied, looking at his watch and wondering where the hell his partner was. "Do you mind if I take a look at her?" He asked looking straight at the doctors. "I won't hurt her. I want to see if we can figure out who she is."

Calleigh nodded and handed Matt a pair of plastic gloves. "Don't move her, if you need to see something, ask one of us." She directed, pushing the nurse call button. Her patient was so critically injured and ill, it would take a team to roll her if the detective needed.

Matt looked down at the woman. "Does she have any identifying information? Can you tell me her eye color? Hair color?"

"Blue eyes, blonde hair. When we brought her in, she weighed about 88 pounds; we don't think she is any taller then 5'5. We think she's in her thirties, no older then that." Ross explained, taking sip of his coffee.

The detective nodded again, racking his brain for any missing persons cases in the last month from the area. Nothing came to mind and he continued to look over the woman. She was covered in bruises, all in various stages of healing. "Can we get prints?"

Calleigh bit her lip, and reached down and gently turned over the woman's fingertips. Matt immediately looked away. "Son of a bitch…" He needed to find something, anything to figure out who this woman was. "Was a rape kit done?" He didn't need to know if she was raped, he needed to know who had done this. It was almost guaranteed that it had happened especially with the injuries she had.

"She isn't stable enough.."

"We need the evidence," Matt countered.

"I can guarantee you, whoever did this, left their DNA all over her. If you are asking me if she was sexually assaulted, I can tell you she was based on the injuries she had. She hasn't been bathed since she arrived, look under her fingernails, her hair, but we aren't doing a rape kit right now." Ross explained, protectively standing in front of the woman.

Matt nodded. "I need everything off of her you can give me. My partner should be here soon and we will photograph her injures and see if we can get a hit off of anything. Crime scene will come in and examine her for any trace evidence…" his voice fell away as he looked back down at the woman. "Did you notice if she had any tattoos?"

Calleigh shook her head, "I actually didn't pay attention to that; we can look." Together, and with the help of a few nurses, Calleigh and Ross slowly examined their patient for any tattoos, looking hard underneath all of the bruises.

"Wait. Stop." Matt called, leaning down as the nurses had rolled the woman onto her side. "There is something underneath the neck brace. Is there anyway we can look underneath it?"

"She has a spinal fracture, detective. We cannot risk it." Ross said softly, walking over to stand next to the detective. He bent down and gently moved the woman's hair away, without moving her neck. "Well look at that." Ross whispered, grabbing his pen light and shining it on the skin. "Anne, can you get me a warm cloth, please?" He requested of the nurse. "Thank you, lets see what this is." Ross said, gently rubbing the dirt away from the neck.

And there it was. There stood a bright red mark; a red circle with two letter carved in; the letters intertwining with one another. "Whatcha see, doc?" Matt asked, tilting his head to see the mark.

"Its not a tattoo, I can tell you that. It's a burn and pretty recent. Id say within the last two or three days." He paused again. "It's infected already…"

Matt closed his eyes and crossed his arms, thinking of what it could mean. "Its not a burn or a tattoo." He said softly. "It's a branding. Whoever did this, marked her as theirs." He looked down at his watch again, where the hell was his partner?

"Doctors, excuse me," he stepped out of the room and dialed his partner. The phone went straight to voicemail. "Damn it, Clyde. The shit is gonna hit the fan with this case. Get your ass over here now…" he was about to go on when he heard a voice behind him.

"Chill Kindred, I'm here." Clyde Spain waltzed over, his eyes bloodshot. Again.

"You're drunk." Matt breathed.

"No. I was drunk. Now, I am just hungover. Where's the body?" He yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth.

"In the trauma bay, she's still alive. Somehow."

Clyde's whispered. "Then why the hell are we here?" He threw his hands in the air. "I'm going back to bed."

"She wont survive, Clyde. It will be a homicide."

"Then call me when shes a goner." He stopped and stared at his partner. "Look- pass the case off to general if its just an assault. If not, and you are certain shes going to die, lets take it."

Matt bit the inside of his lip. "She wont survive, Clyde. "

Clyde took a deep breath and threw his hands in the air "Fine, lets go see."

Matt nodded and motioned for Clyde to follow and back through the trauma room doors.

"Doctors, this is my partner, Clyde Spain…" Matt said, introducing his partner to the doctor.

Clyde didn't say anything but walked over to the woman and bent down, his caressing her hair. "Well shit, what are we going to do with you?" He stood up and crossed his arms looking over her. After a moment, he asked the doctors to provide any DNA they had. "Look Matt, I'll run it to the lab. Give me a few hours, let me see if anything comes up."

Matt nodded. Clyde was an ass, there was no doubt about it. But he was a damn good detective and that was what this woman needed. With the help of the medical staff, Clyde collected what he needed and said his goodbye before leaving his card with Calleigh. "Call me when she dies."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I am so sorry about the massive typos in the last chapter! I am working on a new computer and didn't catch them. Please review! I am not sure if anyone is liking this story and am trying to press it foward!**

It had just been over two days since Matt had met the mystery woman and they were no closer to finding out who she was then when he had first been assigned the case. Both he and Clyde were working it, but from different angles. Matt had decided to try and figure out what the hell had happened to this woman whereas Clyde was working to figure out who she was. Both had come up short.

Matt though, seemed to be having a bit more luck then his partner. And today, he planned to go sit with the staff at the hospital to see if they could help connect any dots.

The woman had miraculously survived forty eight hours longer then she was initially expected to have and had been transferred to the intensive care unit of the large hospital. Not only that, she had survived two emergency surgeries.

"You have all my respect ma'am," Matt said as he sat down next to the still unknown woman. He was hoping Clyde would get a hit on DNA evidence in the next few hours, he was hoping to finally figure out who this woman was. What had had figured out was that she had been tortured, sexually assaulted, beaten, the list went on. Security footage was able to show the exact moment when a person, dressed all in black, had seemingly appeared from around the corner, the woman in their arms. The footage also showed the person dumping the poor woman behind the dumpster before casually walking off. She didn't appear to be conscious for any of it.

Matt had scoured multiple security cameras, hoping for anything else that could help identify this woman or the person who had done this. Only one camera offered a small clue- the car that Matt believed was used. A four door, white, Honda Civic. One of the most popular cars and this one had no identifying features. He couldn't see a ding, a scratch, a bumper sticker, nothing. The image was too blurry to capture the license plate. Whoever did this, had known what they were doing.

"Ma'am, I am not sure what your name is, but everyone is calling you Jennifer. I don't know where they came up with that, but it seems to fit better then Jane Doe. So if you like the name or hate it, why don't you wake up and let us know huh?" He reached into a bag he had brought with him and brought out a fleece blanket. Standing up, he spread it over the woman, careful not to jostle her. "My wife made this, she is a supporter of the police, obviously. She wanted you to have this, it has our badge on it. You're protected ma'am, a badge is covering you."

"I think she'd like that!" A small voice startled Matt and he turned to see both Ross and Calleigh smiling at him from the doorway. "She needs bit of personalization in here. We just can't do flowers." Ross said, reaching out and shaking the detectives hand.

"Yeah, well, the wife heard about her and thought she needed something. How is she?"

"She's stabilized but still gravely ill. Neurosurgery was able to help relieve the pressure on her brain, ortho was able to go in at the same time and essentially reconstruct her pelvis and left leg. But there are concerns about the damage to her spinal cord; if she lives and that is a massive if, the complications right now run the gamut from walking with a limp the rest of her life, all the way to blindness, seizures, deafness, paralysis, the list just goes on and on." Ross said gently. "She's got a hell of a fight ahead of her."

"Well, she's proved us wrong so far." Calleigh stated before looking up at Matt. "Once she is strong enough, she'll have multiple surgeries ahead of her, right now, it's just the emergency surgeries we are looking at. And only if it's strictly necessary."

Matt nodded licking his lips. "Clyde let me know you were able to get the DNA evidence he needed; that you handed it to him a few days ago." Calleigh nodded but Matt could tell there was something that was aggravating her. "What?" He asked, not liking the look on the doctor's face.

"He demanded we get him the rape kit, said he'd have us arrested if we didn't comply…"

Matt's eyes went wide, "Did you do the kit?"

"I did," Calleigh said. "We are very protective of her, the less people touching her the better. After that, he said it was fine to bathe her. Me and one of the ICU nurses did that, the amount of dirt and blood that came off of her was something I've never seen."

Matt nodded growing increasingly agitated with his partner's attitude. "We are hoping the DNA comes back with something today…" he began just as his phone began to ring. It was Clyde. "Excuse me, doctors." Matt stood up and walked over the window before answering the call. "Tell me you have something."

"Nothing man, nothing came back. Its like she's a ghost, I took every bit of evidence I could. Blood, urine, rape kit, hair- I got nothing. I looked for the brand- nothing. Nothing on her and nothing on who did this." He paused. "So unless she wakes up…"

"What about the media? Can we release her photo to the media?"

"You want to risk the sicko finding out she survived? Then sure, lets do it."

"Then figure it out! Figure out who the hell she is! Chief is breathing down our necks, he wants this case solved."

"Yeah. Look man, I'm in the elevator, I'll see you in a second." And the phone clicked. Clyde hung up the phone leaving Matt seething .

"Not good news I take it?" Ross asked looking at the detective's body language.

"No. Nothing. Nothing came back on her."

"How? How is that possible?" Calleigh asked, sitting back down next to her patient. "How is nobody missing her?" Gently, she reached over and smoothed the woman's blonde hair back, mindful of the multiple bruises as a small knock came at the door at Clyde walked in.

"Somebody is missing her;" Matt said softly. "We just have to find them." He glanced down at the woman; the bruises were fading and he was starting to see more of the woman's face. Clyde stood next to him and grabbed the woman's hands, turning them over to look at her fingerprints.

"They look like they are healing…" He said, gently prodding the woman's fingers.

And without warning- everything went to hell.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thank you for the reviews! I am trying to get this story out ASAP. Once I go back to work I will have a hard time updating :) Please review!**

Matt sat in the private lounge in the ICU. Calleigh and Ross had provided him with the access code and he had immediately headed there as soon as he was forced out of the room. Something had happened. Something bad.

He didn't know how bad just yet, but he knew just by the amount of alarms and medical staff present in the room that his vic had just taken a turn for the worse. He was running out of time. He stood up and began to pace the room trying to think of what he was missing.

"Ghost victim… no DNA…" he muttered rubbing his temples. Deep down, he could have sworn he had seen her before but nothing was coming to mind. She was simply non-existent, a nobody. But she had to be somebody, she had to be someone's somebody. But how in the hell did she get here, in this condition? A ringing suddenly caused him to jump and he grabbed his phone, "damn it" he muttered seeing the caller ID. It was his chief.

"Kindred." He answered, peering out the door to see if he could see the two doctors. He saw them and what seemed like the entire ICU staff, still in his vic's room. Light and alarms still ever present.

"You got anything on her?" Chief Tyler's voice boomed over the phone.

"Other than she's deteriorating… nothing."

There was silence on the other end. "I'll be there in twenty, don't go anywhere." And the call ended.

Matt sighed. He was getting nowhere with this case and his partner and vanished shortly after the incident in the ICU. He knew Clyde had gone to the bar, he knew he was an addict, he knew he didn't give a damn about his case. And his vic was suffering because of it.

"Matt?" His head shot up as he saw Ross walk in, his face red and sweat dripping from his forehead.

"How is she?" He jumped up seeing the doctor.

"She's stable; but she spiked a fever. We think it's a result of the infection from the burns."

Matt's head shot up. "Burns? I only knew of one."

Ross looked up at him curiously. "We told your partner we found more injuries on her. We are finding them as the bruises diminish; she had a significant burn on her stomach. An old injury, we don't know what it's from, but it's not recent."

And his heart nearly stopped. "My partner didn't tell me that." He was going to continue when the door opened and his chief walked in, looking irate.

"Kindred. Where is your partner? I've been calling him and its just going to voicemail!" The chief growled not bothering to introduce himself to the Ross.

Ross looked to Matt who nodded, a pit in his stomach. "I'm not sure, he isn't returning my calls either. The hospital had him paged and we haven't heard back."

There was silence and the chief lowered his voice. "Where is the DNA evidence? The CSI guys are going nuts without it."

"What?" Matt looked up, alarmed. "Clyde took it over two days ago; he called me earlier today and said nothing came back…"

The tension in the room was palpable. "They never saw any evidence, no DNA, no rape kit. Nothing."

Matt closed his eyes as he felt his stomach turn over. He turned to look at Ross "You gave him everything?"

Ross nodded. "Everything that she came in with- we gave to him. He.. he requested blood and urine samples, was adamant about the rape kit." He paused. "And then begged us to bathe her, said it was for her dignity."

"To get rid of any evidence." Matt spoke softly as Calleigh walked into the room. "Who is with her?" He asked, already heading towards the room- Ross, Chief and Calleigh tailing after him.

"Maria," Calleigh responded, not sure what as going on. "The charge nurse. What happened?"

There was no answer as they piled into the room. "Dr. Lucas?" Maria looked up, as she adjusted the woman's tubing and cleaned the fresh blood off of her arms. "She's bleeding. I cannot figure out why, just started bleeding."

Calleigh rushed over, Ross at her side. Blood was apparent, fresh blood, coming from various parts of her body. Gently, the two doctors began examining her. "What the hell?" She asked, perplexed. She reached over and hit the code button, wanting as much staff on hand as possible.

In a moment, Matt and the chief were shoved aside, into a corner as the room filled again with staff, all trying to figure out what had happened. It was as Matt looked away as the staff ripped over the woman's gown and blanket, that something caught his attention. In the trash can was a syringe, needle still attached.

Reaching over, he grabbed gloves and reached into the trash, carefully grabbing the syringe. The chief made eye contact with him and they both knew it. They finally had something.

"Ross." Matt called and lifted the syringe for the doctor to see.

"What the hell is that?" He yelled back.

"Found it in the trash…"

"Damn it- Maria, we need to find out what's in her system now."

The nurse nodded and quickly, expertly, was able to draw several vials of blood before sending it off with a tech. "Kindred- go with her. Ill stay with here." The chief growled, not wanting any other evidence compromised.

Thirty minutes later, Kindred, Chief, Calleigh and Ross stood in the ICU room, watching as Maria administered an emergency dose of medication that would help counteract what their vic had been given.

"The lab identified it as something that causes bleeding; we don't have an exact name but the pharmacist was able to link it to the symptoms she is exhibiting." Ross explained, watching as the young woman's vitals started to stabilize.

"Was this done on purpose?" Chief questioned.

"I didn't order it, I am the treating physician so it would have had to come by me. I've never even seen it and our pharmacy hasn't either."

"Is she going to be okay?" Matt asked softly.

Ross looked back at him. "Someone just tried to kill her under our noses, detective. If you are asking me if the medication will complicate her recovery, I'd say it will."

There was silence again.

"I think we need to call in the FBI." Matt said softly, "they'll be able to find who did this." And even though he said it, deep down, Matt knew he already knew who had hurt this woman.

His partner was on the run.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Thank you for the reviews! I am trying to get this story out ASAP. Once I go back to work I will have a hard time updating :) Please review!**

Clyde stumbled around his rental home, his dream home. The one he had hand built on his land many years ago. The county life had been peaceful, the house was hidden within a mass of trees. He had never had a visitor, not one person had voluntarily ever come to this dwelling.

Many others had however, of course always against their will. None had ever survived- except one.

And that one was currently making his life a living hell. She was not supposed to have survived. He had given his friend specific instructions, provided more money they he should have and left feeling confident that the deed was done. And then it wasn't. And now, well now he had one hell of an issue.

He was going to have to run, he was confident that his so called partner was already on his trail… he had to leave before anyone could figure anymore out.

"Stupid bitch," he muttered, moving aside the bookcase and entering the secret room. A dungeon. He grabbed what he could, pictures, videos, clothing, money, and his survival kit. A kit full of food, water, and an assortment of survival supplies. He wouldn't be able to return to his dream home. With one last look, he took out his department cellphone and submerged it into the toilet before walking out the door and disappearing.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sofia Hunt flashed her badge as she entered the ICU; her partner Melvin Curtis did the same.

"Agent Hunt, I'm with the FBI. This is my partner, Agent Curtis. We were called in…"

"Room one." The nurse said, after looking over the badge. "Guard is outside the door, you'll have to flash your badge again. Detective Kindred is in there as well." The nurse paused and looked at the young agent. "Look, she… whoever she is, has been through a lot. We're protective of her- don't you dare hurt her!" The nurse growled holding a pen out at the agents.

"Right…" Sofia said, pocketing her badge. "Thank you for your help." She motioned for Melvin to follow and the two headed down the hall. It wasn't difficult to find the room, the guard outside made it abundantly clear where their vic was. "This is completely unnecessary," she grumbled, flashing her badge again at the guard. "How many guards does she need?"

"Who are you?" A male voice greeted them, his hand on his hip near his service weapon.

"Who are you?" Sofia shot back, holding her badge up.

The man's posture changed almost instantly and he dropped his hadn. "Detective Matt Kindred; thank you for coming so quickly." He reached over and shook both of their hands.

"No offense detective, but from what we understand there is no need for FBI involvement." Sofia began, her eyes darting over to the woman lying on the bed. "Our chief asked us to come over to check it out, but I cannot guarantee we will take the case."

"Understood," Matt began, "but give me a chance."

For the next half hour, Matt spoke in vivid detail about the events that had occurred in the last few days. "We cannot figure out who she is…"

"And you're sure your partner is involved?" Sofia asked, walking over to the bed.

"No. But like I told you, evidence is missing that he took. Evidence that could have led to her identity."

Sofia nodded and looked over at the wall before grabbing a small pair of gloves and snapping them on. "I won't hurt her, detective. Your nurse at the front already warned me." She explained seeing the expression on his face. "You said she had a branding, can you show it to me?"

"I'll have to get the staff in here. It's under the neck brace, she has a spinal fracture and they are extremely cautious about moving her."

Sofia nodded, "I don't want to move her if it could put her at risk. Can you describe it to me?"

Matt looked at her, "Actually, I can do one better. I had the doctor take a photo and send it to me." He reached over and pulled out his phone before handing it to the agent. Instantly, he knew something had happened. "What is it agent?"

Sofia handed the phone to her partner, "did you see any other marks on her? Any other brandings?"

"No, but she was covered in bruises when she came in; the staff may have seen more."

"What about under the casts?" Sofia questioned, looking over at the woman. She had seen the mark before, the brand, and had a sickening feeling that this was not just another case.

"She had surgery pretty early on, I can ask the doctors? I don't know if they would have been able to see anything."

"I'm looking specifically for one on her hip or inside of her thigh, it'll be small." She explained, looking down at the woman again.

"'Fia," Melvin called out . "I already got a match on the brand," he paused, "its him."

There was silence in the room as Calleigh and Ross walked in.

"What?" Matt looked to both of the agents. He had clearly missed something.

"That mark; we've seen it before. We've found it on about twelve other victims." Sofia explained. "None of them survived…"

Matt stood, shocked. "You've got to be kidding me," he said, running his hand over his face.

"Do you have any idea where your partner may have gone?"

"Patrol went to his house, he wasn't there. We have eyes on it in case he returns."

Sofia turned to her partner, "Do you want to head that way or me? I can have the rest of the team meet one of us."

"I can, you stay with her." Melvin answered, "Detective, can you provide me the address? Let your unit know we are heading that way?"

Matt nodded. "Of course." Matt quickly wrote down the address and handed it over. "He's an experienced sniper, retired from special forces, firearm fanatic."

"Thanks." Melvin tipped his head and headed out of the room, not bothering to address the two doctors standing in the doorway.

"What the hell is going on?" Calleigh spoke up, seeing that something significant had just occurred.

"Dr. Lucas this is Agent Sofia Hunt with the FBI." He paused. "They already have something."

"Your partner is more than likely the prime suspect in a string of murders that occurred between here and Virginia." She paused and looked over the woman, "and if it is- this woman is the only known surviving victim of one hell of a prolific serial killer."

There was silence for a brief moment, save for the consistent beeping of the machines. "Do you know who she is?" Calleigh asked.

Sofia took a deep breath. "No, I have no idea. But we will find out." But Matt picked up something in her voice and he looked at her quizzically. The agent did not meet his eyes- there was something she wasn't saying.

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Melvin whistled as he walked through the immaculate house; it had taken two hours for SWAT to clear it but he was finally able to gain entry. The rest of his team had arrived on scene and together, they had systematically begun going through the mansion.

"Looks like we finally have something; where is Fia?" Steven called, yet another member of the team.

"At the hospital, with our vic. Chief is heading that way to meet with her." He replied as he began walking the interior. It was as he entered the basement that something caught his eye, light was coming from behind the wall. "Bingo." He smiled and called for his team.

With a slight push, he was able to push through the wall and the team entered what Melvin could only describe as hell. "What the hell?" He whispered walking around. There was too much, the person who had been kept in here had been tortured- blood was on the bed, floor and walls. He had no doubt it would match their victim lying comatose in the hospital.

"Mel…" It was Amy's voice; he turned to see her holding a black wallet. His heart dropped immediately.

He recognized the symbol on the front. Wordlessly, he took it from Amy and opened the wallet- a badge stood back at him. One identical to the same one he carried. Save for the picture.

"Is that her?" Amy whispered, looking at the photograph. A beautiful woman was staring back at them. Melvin nodded and took out his phone, dialing Fia.

She picked up on the second ring. "Yeah?"

He spoke softly, his hands grasping the badge. "Fia- she's one of us. She's FBI." He took a deep breath. "Her name is Jennifer Jareau."

Inside the hospital room, Calleigh, Ross and Matt all knew instantly that the phone call had delivered significant news. "Are you sure, Mel?" Sofia had asked softly, her own hands shaking slightly as she looked back down at the woman in the bed. "Okay, I'll let the chief know. We'll figure out what to do from there."

Ross waited until she had hung up on the phone. "Did you figure out who she is?"

Sofia nodded. "We will have to get a match, we want to make sure before we reach out to her family. But we believe her name is Jennifer Jareau." Sofia licked her lips and glanced up at the three sets of eyes looking down at her; they had taken wonderful care of this woman. This woman who now had a name, an identity, a woman who was her colleague. "She's a federal agent. She's FBI."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thank you for the reviews :)**

Sofia stood in a small conference room, rubbing her aching temples. This case had blown up and blown up fast. Her day had started off with hopes she would be home in time to see her son's soccer game- she knew that would not happen now. Granted, he was four and would not remember it, but the fact that she was missing his game weighed heavily on her. Now, well, she couldn't leave, not when this case went from a zero to all hands on deck in less then a few hours.

"Damn it," she sighed and began pacing. She wasn't sure where to start, where to go. Wait for DNA results to come back to confirm the identity or make the call to the unit chief? Speak to the doctors, or have them talk to the unit chief?

"Agent?" Sofia spun on her heal and saw Matt walking towards her, two cups in hand.

"Please tell me that's coffee and one is for me?" She pleaded.

"Yes on both accounts," Matt smiled and took a seat at the table. "You got sucked into this just like I did."

"That's an understatement," Sofia grimaced. "I honestly thought this was just a favor- now, well now, we have a serial killer and his only surviving vic…" Sofia stopped when she saw Matt's reaction "What?"

"Have you spoken with Dr. Lucas… well either one of them, about her chances?"

Sofia shook her head, "No, I haven't really even gotten to far into her injuries," Sofia's voice dropped, not liking where the this was going.

Matt nodded, "She isn't expected to live; however, she has surpassed seemingly insurmountable odds so far. Originally, when she first got to the ER, the staff didn't expect her to survive the hour. Well, now, going on three days later, she is still here."

Sofia nodded slowly, "and now?"

"Now," he put his cup down on the table, "Now its up to you agent, to get her family here before she… well, get them in here in time."

Sofia looked at him. "Have they tested for any brain activity?"

Matt stopped. "I am not sure, I haven't really asked for anymore medical details since my original visit. I am sure they have."

Sofia opened her mouth to speak again when a loud knock came at the door, and a parade of people entered. Sofia recognized them as Melvin, her unit chief, and at least two doctors and nurses.

"Who is with her?" Sofia asked having ordered someone with their vic at all times.

"Amy is, she volunteered." Melvin answered, grabbing the cup from Sofia's hands and taking a sip.

There was a moment of silence when their unit chief, Hector Tylan spoke up. "I need the room cleared, I just need Fia, Detective Kindred and one doctor in here."

There was no argument, everyone else filed out, except Calleigh and Ross. "We both treated her." Calleigh crossed her arms, signifying she was not budging.

"Whatever, but nothing leaves this room." Hector scoffed, not wanting the fight. "I am going to call Aaron Hotchner, he is the unit chief of the BAU. If this woman is who we think she is, Agent Hotchner needs to know."

There was silence as Tylan looked at every person one by one. He then left the room, and went to another conference room adjacent to the vic's ICU room; he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hotch sat in his office, his mind drifting away. Where the hell was his agent? His missing agent who had seemingly vanished into thin air more than a year ago. They had chased every lead, followed up on every tip, devoted countless hours and had come up with nothing. Not a profile, not a video, not a shred of evidence to guide them in finding their friend. And he was worn thin. He didn't know how much longer he could keep doing this, maintain hope that JJ was somehow still alive.

He had run through every scenario, even the ones that he knew JJ would never do. Abduction, murder, suicide, covert mission, affair, mental illness- every avenue was investigated and everything came back clear. She was simply gone. A ghost.

He had just stood up when his phone began to ring.

"Hotchner," He answered.

"Agent Hotchner, this is Agent Tylan. I am the unit chief for the Bureau in eastern Oklahoma."

"What can I do you for agent?" Hotch asked, not in the mood for small talk.

There was silence for a moment. "What can you tell me about Agent Jareau?"

And Hotch stopped in his tracks, steading himself having not expected that "What do you need to know?" He asked, not wanting to relive the hell that had been the last several months.

"Anything." Tylan asked, not wanting to show his cards just yet. "Anything you can tell me that may help us help find her and bring her home."

There was a pause and Hotch took a deep breath; he had held JJ's case close to the vest, only allowing vested agents to investigate, those he knew were devoted to her bringing her home. And it had gotten him nowhere; maybe it was time to release his death grip on the control of the case. "Agent Jareau vanished on August 8th of 2017. We've had almost no clues to her disappearance and nobody has seen or heard from her since."

Tylan chewed his lip as he listed to Hotchner describe the details surrounding the sudden disappearance of one of his charges. It broke his heart to hear the unit chief speak about his agent, how hard they had searched for her, her husband and son. He was listening to Hotchner talk when a knock came at the door and Sofia stepped in.

"DNA is back." She spoke softly. "It's a match. That woman is Agent Jareau."

Tylan nodded and motioned for Sofia to sit next to him. "Agent Hotchner. Three days ago a woman showed up in the emergency room, no identification, nothing on her. She was not responsive and as the medical staff explained in grave condition."

"Is she alive?" Tylan could hear the sight tremor in the agent's voice. He knew what Tylan was about to tell him before he even said it.

"Yes. And DNA has confirmed that we have found Agent Jareau."


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I am not a doctor, a nurse, a CNA. I have no medical experince at all. So I am not sure how this would work in real life, but this is not real life and thats why I can hurt JJ. She isn't real... keep that in mind as you read this:

Hotch stood utterly still as the words rang over the phone. "I'm sorry?" He said, hoping to have the agent repeat what he had just said.

"Agent Hotchner, we will send you over everything we have, but the woman here is Agent Jareau." He paused for a second. "

"What is her condition?" Hotch asked, quickly sending a text message to Emily, asking her to meet him in his office immediately. She was there in less then a minute, standing beside him as he placed the phone on speaker.

"I can grab one of the treating physicians and call you back, does that work?" Tylan asked, looking to grab Ross.

"That'll be fine, if its available, I'd prefer a video conference. We haven't seen her in months…"

There was silence on the other line for the briefest of moments "Agent, I am not sure seeing her by video for the first time in over a year is the best; she is not in good shape." There was empathy in his voice, he was acting as the agent, but also as a friend he knew he would want if he was in Hotchner's position.

"I understand but we deal with horrific cases every day, nothing we see…."

"This isn't a case agent; this is your friend, your agent. It's difficult to hear about her condition, let alone see it, but if you insist, Ill have the doctors update you on her condition and we can go from there." There was a click and Hotch knew the call had been disconnected. All he could do now was wait.

"Hotch?" Emily moved closer, concern etched on her face. "Was that…"

Hotch nodded, rubbing his hands over his mouth. "They found her."

Emily knees wavered for the briefest of moments before she looked up at him and spoke softly "and?"

Hotch shook his head. "I don't know anything yet, except that she is in critical condition in a hospital in Oklahoma."

"We need to head there, now." Emily stated, standing back up.

"I know- but the doctors are going to call me back in a minute to talk about her condition. Can you gather everyone and have them ready in five minutes? I need to call the director."

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Calleigh sat next to her patient's bedside, gently checking the various injuries. "They are healing, sweetie. Your skin is looking better every day. Now, if we can just get the rest of you fixed up, you'd be as good as new." Gently, she reached over and tucked the blanket closer around her charge, always careful of the various wounds.

"I heard we finally figured out who you were; I knew you looked like a Jennifer! I got to see what you look like without all these nasty injuries," Calleigh smiled, "and apparently, your FBI friends are here."

"That we are," Tylan walked in and stood over the bed. "How is Agent Jareau doing?"

Calleigh's smiled faded slightly, "Her bruises are fading, cuts are healing…"

"All surface level," Tylan reached over and gently grabbed one of JJ's hands. "Hey there Agent Jareau. Rest easy- the Calvary is here." He paused for a brief moment and looked back to the doctor. "Her status?"

Calleigh nodded. "Hour to hour. She needs a lot of prayer." Her eyes darted up as a monitor began to alarm. "Okay, shh, its okay." She reached over and adjusted the settings, silencing the alarm.

"Is she okay?"

Calleigh shrugged. "That's relative. Her heart is giving out," she whispered. "We think the combination of trauma and drugs and infection has damaged her heart to some degree. Cardiology is coming to look at her this evening."

Tylan licked his lips and took a seat next to Calleigh. "I spoke with her supervisor; he's in shock that we found her- even more so that we found her alive. Would you be willing to speak with him? He asked for a video conference, I tried to dissuade him but he wasn't budging. I think if he hears from you and Ross.."

"Of course we will, just tell me what we need to do."

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Emily, Garcia, Reid, Morgan and Rossi sat around the small table, silent. They had been rounded up quickly by Emily, telling them that Hotch needed them ASAP. She didn't specify the reason. But she wondered if they knew- if they knew that now was the moment they had been dreading for over a year.

Garcia was in tears, Emily and Morgan were pacing, Reid was taping his pencil… they knew they were about to receive devastating news. A moment later, Hotch walked in.

He wasted no time. "We found JJ."

There was silence, followed by a sharp intake of breath. "How?" Garcia whispered.

"She was found outside an emergency room in Oklahoma. I don't know much else except that she is alive. The agent out there is calling us now." With a few button pushes, Hotch was able to bring up Tylan's image on the screen.

"Agent Hotchner, I presume?"

"Yes, Agent Tylan, this is my team, JJ's team." He didn't care about introductions. He wanted to hear about JJ.

"Very well. I wanted to introduce you to Dr. Lucas and Dr. Lucas," he grinned and switched the image to show the two doctors sitting aside us. "Dr. Calleigh Lucas was the physician who treated your agent upon arrival in the emergency room. Dr. Ross Lucas took over once she was stable enough to move to the ICU."

"What can you tell us about our JJ?" Garica didn't care that she had tears in her eyes- they had been waiting for this day for over a year.

Calleigh bit her lip and dove into detail, explaining how she had been discovered by the dumpster, and the subsequent events that had followed. "Right now, she is in grave condition. We don't know how she has made it this long honestly." She stopped for a moment, hating to deliver the next bit of news. "I am so sorry, but her condition continues to deteriorate. If she has anyone, any family, they need to be here…"

"We are on our way." Hotch interrupted, he waited until his team left the room before turning back to the video. "We can be there in four hours. Will she make it that long?"

Calleigh looked to Ross and looked down. "I don't know Agent Hotchner. I don't know. But she won't be alone."

Hotch nodded then looked to Tylan. "Find him, find him before we do."

Tylan nodded and disconnected the call before looking to Calleigh. "I wasen't aware her condition had deteoriated."

Ross looked down and back up after a moment. "Her heart stopped while you were on the phone. We had to crack her chest open to get it restarted." There was another pause. "It's beating on its own again, but its just a matter of time now."

Tylan nodded and stood up before calling Sofia. "Any leads on this SOB?" He growled.

"Nothing."

"I want him today, 'Fia. We get him today. Agent Jareau does not have a lot of time left- we owe it to her to catch this guy before…"

"I understand boss. We'll get him."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thank you for the reviews :) There is a pretty heavy lanuage warning in this chapter. Also, I am getting a lot of comments about JJ dying.**

 **I am not willing to answer that here for people who do not wish to be spoiled; if you HAVE to know, PM me.**

Clyde sat in the smoky restaurant, his hands shaking as he tipped his second bottle to his lips. It was the only thing he could stomach. He had tried eating, tried toast and rice- but nothing stayed down. Except beer and Xanax.

His cheap hotel was across the street in a run down town just an hour away from where all hell was breaking loss. Had tossed his department issued and personal phones days before- he now relied completely on a burner phone. Only one person had that number and Clyde was waiting for that person to meet him.

"Hey buddy, I think your mentor is here…" the bartender said, pointing to the large man walking in.

"Yeah, Thanks." Clyde nodded and waved the man over, not saying a word as he slipped into the booth. "Guess you found it okay." He groaned, rubbing his temples.

"You fucked this up." The man growled, not bothering for introductions.

"I did? How did I?" Clyde shot back.

"She was never supposed to make it to the hospital alive; how the hell did that happen?"

Clyde snorted, "She wasn't breathing when I dumped her. I checked. Multiple times. She had no pulse."

"And what possessed you to dump her at a damn hospital?" The man whispered through gritted teeth.

"The same thing that possessed you when you ordered me to kidnap a fucking FBI agent! I warned you, I tried to warn you, but you had to have her. And now look…" Clyde snapped back, not willing to take the sole blame for this catastrophe.

The man slammed his fists down and moved in closer to Clyde. "Why. Is. She. Alive?"

"No clue. I told you from the start I wouldn't be the one to off her- that was your area. Why you didn't just shoot her, I'll never understand. Shoot her and leave her in the river, but you wanted this one to be special… you wanted her to suffer."

The man glared at Clyde. "The FBI is involved now, they have figured out who she is."

"Took 'em long enough. Look, from what I am hearing, she won't survive. You're fine- they are after me. There is not a trace of evidence that you were ever involved."

"And how do I know you won't rat me out once they track your ass down?" Clyde shrugged and took another swing from the bottle. "I have a massive problem, Spain. A massive one. If, for someone reason, that bitch survives and we both know she is stubborn enough to; it'll be my ass all over the news. Not some low life detective."

"Then do something about it- make it that she won't survive."

The man narrowed his eyes, "And what do you propose I do exactly?"

Clyde rolled his neck and took a deep breath. "You've got unrestricted access to her- I don't. So it's on you. You have to get to her alone."

The man nodded and leaned back into the bench. "That won't be an issue. You're the mastermind behind it all, I just carry it out."

"Except the abduction part…" Clyde growled.

"Figure out something, or if I go down, I am taking you down with me."

Clyde bristled and crossed his arms. "I need to know more about her condition."

"They are worried about her heart; said its failing."

"Of course its failing." Clyde rolled his eyes; he had done a few years of chemistry, and nursing school back in the day before making the switch to law enforcement. "They'll do anything to keep her alive though. If she survives, she'll be a candidate for a transplant, but that won't happen." He grabbed a pen and began drawing on an unused napkin.

"You come up with concoctions to wreak havoc in bodies, you used her as a human experiment with your new street drugs, but you cant figure out how to kill her?"

Clyde looked up, "I can do that without any issue- its doing it without being caught is the problem. Everything I have is traceable in her bloodstream. We can't do this by drugs." He took a deep breath and then looked over at his partner and then down at the napkin. "Is she still on the trach?"

"That thing in her throat? Ya. They also opened her chest up- said something about needing to do it to get her started again."

Clyde nodded and smiled. He had a plan. "You get one shot at this, and you need to do it quickly and get out of there. It won't take much really, unless…"

"Unless what?" The man asked.

Clyde licked his lips. "Unless the staff get in that room quick enough to counteract your plan."

The man closed his eyes. "You know they will; she is being watched like a hawk."

There was silence for a moment before Clyde spoke again. "We have one other option, but you'd better have a damn good shot."

"What the hell does that mean?"

And the two men sat there for over an hour, sketching out the details of their plan. Having no idea that the BAU was heading their way.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I MAY update again tonight. This is a HUGE chapter and begins to explain what was happening to JJ. Please review, they make me smile!**

Sofia sat in the small ICU room, pouring over documentation regarding the now infamous Jareau case. As soon as the identification had been made, the FBI had taken over. An agent now stood outside Agent Jareau's room at all times, another was stationed inside. Whoever had done this, was not getting another chance at hurting her… or worse.

Sofia was currently the agent posted inside the room; and she sat next to the bedside, her back to the window, reading case note after case note. Looking at every single piece of documentation the FBI had on her disappearance.

And it was hardly anything. Not that her disappearance wasn't investigated, no, Sofia could see that every lead, clue, detail had been looked into it. It was as if Agent Jareau had simply vanished and then reappeared over a year later.

"This is X-Files type shit right here," she groaned, and glanced back up at her charge. "What happened to you, agent?"

Standing up, Sofia stretched as one of the nurses walked in. "How is she?" The nurse asked, walking over.

"She hasn't complained," Sofia answered dryly.

"Yeah, well, she has every reason in the world to, don't you hon?" The nurse asked, grabbing a syringe from her pocket and attaching it to the IV tubing.

"What are you giving her?" Sofia asked, watching as the nurse watched the monitors carefully.

"Morphine."

"Morphine?" Sofia asked, astounded that they were giving pain medicine. "How do you know she's in pain?"

"Oh sweetie," the nurse briefly glanced back at Sofia. "She tell us… well, her body tells us by her vitals. Also, wouldn't you be in pain if you were in her condition? Dr. Lucas had to crack her chest open a few hours ago to get her heart started. That alone is painful; then you add the rest of her injuries- she needs the medicine."

Sofia nodded watching the nurse administer the drug. "Is she improving at all?" She asked, almost hopefully.

The nurse looked down and away. "No, she isn't. But she's fighting and that's all we can ask for- well, that and her family to be here."

"They are on their way."

The nurse nodded and grabbed the syringe before dropping it in the sharps container mounted on the wall and turning. "Just in case you didn't know- we have a storm heading our way. Alright got the tornado watch's issued."

"What's your plan for a warning?" Sofia asked, already thinking of how they could protect their agent in the event a twister began heading their way.

"We have a plan that goes into effect as soon as its issued. Thankfully, the ICU is pretty vacant so she'd be one of the only patients we would have to move downstairs."

"What room? Where would she be going?" Sofia questioned protectively.

"First floor, emergency room." The nurse said softly understanding why Sofia's was so anxious.

Sofia nodded and sent a quick text to Mel. 'Sweep ER; precautionary; ICU's plan to move A.J. downstairs reg. tornado warning.'

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300 miles away, Hotch sat on the plane, his eyes glued to the weather radar. They were stuck on the runway because a storm had blown up and was stationary over airport they were headed to.

"JJ's at the hospital about six miles west of the airport," Reid had told him.

"When can we leave, Reid? That's what I need to know." Hotch had barked back.

"The storm is tornadic, it is producing tornados. We won't get clearance to fly for another few hours."

"A few hours is all JJ may have left." Hotch responded.

There was silence for a few moments before Garcia spoke up. "She's waiting for us Hotch; she's held on this long, she'll wait a few more hours," she whispered through tears.

And Hotch nodded before returning to look at the case file. The same way Sofia was studying miles away. Every ten minutes, Hotch would check his watch and then the radar- the storm was only growing more fierce. He had never been so close but so far. She was within reach and Mother Nature had stopped them.

He took a steadying breath and then scanned the file again, the most updated information he had. The information that was only three days old. He reread it several times, before something caught his attention.

"Reid, her bloodwork." He handed the tablet over. "Is that normal?"

Reid glanced at it and shook his head. "No, but considering her condition, its expected." He paused for a moment and Hotch saw the young agent reading something else that he had missed. "Hotch, there was an unidentified chemical in her bloodstream. Many of them actualy."

Hotch looked at him, waiting for further explanation. Reid ran his hand over his hair before standing up and pacing the small plane, muttering to himself. The team watched, knowing his working on figuring something out- something that could hopefully help their friend.

It took less then a few minutes before Reid stopped and looked up at his team, "She's been poisoned. Whatever this is-is systematically attacking her immune system, her vital organs, her brain…"

"Did the doctors discover it?" Morgan asked.

"I honestly don't even know if they knew to look for it." Reid whispered. "This is a chemical compound I have never seen before. At the time of admission, her system was flooded with it." He continued studying the compounds, various scenarios running through his head.

"Reid?" Morgan pushed.

"We need to be looking for a chemist." He paused again. "Someone that may have ties with domestic terrorism." Reid felt the eyes of every team member on him and he took a deep breath. "They used her to develop a biological weapon. They were using her to develop and test biological warfare."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Are any of my readers doctors or nurses, paramedics? I have no clue about medical stuff and have some questions! I promise- I respond to PMs! ALSO- there is a bit of Sci-Fy with this story...**

Reid stared at the numbers on the tablet, his heart sinking further into his chest every time he read a new report. JJ's condition was just as bad as the doctors had told them, if not worse. The amount of chemicals in her system was astronomical, the infection was spreading and they had only just caught what was truly going on.

Various scenarios danced through his mind as he felt the jet start moving down the runway. "We're coming JJ, we're coming." He whispered rubbing his temples. He had requested updated bloodwork minutes ago after first understanding what was truly happening to his friend; he needed to see if the chemical had been completely wiped from her system. Somehow, he doubted it. This person- whoever had done this- was more sophisticated then anything he had ever seen. And deep down, Reid was afraid he may have met his match. And that match came at the cost of a friend's life.

"Talk to me," Morgan's voiced caused Reid to jump.

Reid took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to describe exactly what he had just discovered. "I need her updated labs, I cannot direct the staff until I see those."

"Based on what you have now- what… what is her prognosis?"

Reid averted his eyes and looked away. "I don't see how she can survive this Morgan. It isn't the injuries that are killing her, its her own immune system. It's attacking itself. The chemical has high jacked her system and is essentially taking over. Its as if someone engineered a type of Cancer and turned it into a weapon." He paused again, thinking of ways to try and help his friend. "Her immune system is dangerously low; it's nearly decimated."

"What aren't you telling us?" Morgan moved in closer, seeing Reid was holding back something.

"I don't have a lot of experience working with biological warfare, we need someone who has worked in this field before. But, from the one individual I interviewed who was instrumental in trying to develop stuff like this," he paused, not wanting to say the last few thoughts. "He was offered immunity from the death penalty in exchange for his information. From what I was made to understand is that the people who develop these chemicals, always develop a failsafe to go along with them."

"Like a cure?" Morgan asked hopefully.

"No, it's the opposite. It's the kill switch, it kills the virus- wipes it clear from the body with no trace. So if a body was discovered that they were using, nothing would come back on toxicology results to point in the direction of biological warfare. You administer the failsafe; but it kills the victim."

Morgan stared at him, horror dawning on his face. "They don't want this known, what they had been testing."

"No, I wouldn't think so. From what we've been made to understand, JJ was never supposed to have made it to the emergency room alive."

"So if they know she is alive…"

Reid looked away, "They'll do whatever is needed to make sure the chemical is wiped from her system."

"We already have the labs, the documents, the evidence. How would killing her make it go away?" Morgan questioned, trying to wrap his mind around what he was being told.

"It hasn't killed her… yet. But from what I have been able to tell from her bloodwork is that it is morphing. The flu virus for example, its constantly changing, that's why a vaccine has to be developed every year."

"What would be the failsafe?"

Reid shook his head, "anything. I'd have to research the chemical combination… it could be a drug, another virus, there are millions of different things it could be."

"So at any time, the doctors could give her a drug that would shut this down and kill her?" Morgan asked horrified.

"Yes." Reid nodded. "I have a list of her medications that she has been given, and so far, none of them are it. We know these are safe." He paused again. "She just cannot be given anything else…" the thought terrified him. JJ was in desperate need of medications, but they couldn't risk it. Each medication would have to be weighed separately before being administered. "We just have to hope she remains somewhat stable for the time being."

Morgan crossed his arms and sat back in his seat. "The key to this person's secret weapon is JJ."

"Yes." Reid nodded. "They maybe just waiting for the doctors to unknowingly give her the drug that…" he couldn't finish the sentence.

"Then she's in more danger then we thought."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sofia stood at the ICU window, watching as the storm progressively weakened as it neared them. "Thank God for small miracles," she muttered. The ICU had sent in their army to move Agent Jareau downstairs, three nurses and two doctors had been prepared to move her as soon as the tornado sirens had gone off.

But despite the baseball size hail, the city had been spared and all that remained was some torrential rainfall. Sofia had dreaded moving her charge downstairs in an unpredictable environment; it wasn't secure- it was the last thing they needed. And thankfully, they didn't have to move her. So, she stood in the corner as the staff hooked JJ back up to the machines. She smiled as she heard the staff talking to her, making sure she was comfortable and warm. Doing everything in their power to prevent any further damage.

"Agent," Sofia walked over, taking her seat next to the woman. "Your team is here; they are at the airport. Less then twenty minutes away," she patted JJ's hand. "I just got the text, they are coming for you." One of the monitors alarmed for a brief second and Sofia closed her eyes "just a few more minutes and then you can go home."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Some of you have been requesting a Reid scene. I suck at those, but tried. Here is the result. Work starts again tomorrow so not sure when I can update. PLEASE PLEASE review!**

 **Keep in mind, I am not a doctor or nurse- I am not sure any of this is medically possible!**

Calleigh sat in the ICU room, reading out loud to her comatose patient. "I am not sure you are a big romance fan, but girl let me tell you…" Calleigh said softly as she put the book down. "These two better end up together…" She reached over to brush hair out of her patient's face and instantly withdrew her hand.

"Maria!" She called, jumping up and ripping the blankets off of the agent.

The door swung open immediately and Maria ran in followed closely by Sofia. "Whats wrong?" They both said in unison, watching as the doctor pulled the blankets off JJ.

"Maria, I need a temp on her now…"

Maria nodded and quickly grabbed the machine, sticking the thermometer in her ear and pulling it back out moments later. "104.4" she said, quickly sticking it in her other ear hoping for a misreading. "104.5.."

"Page Ross," Calleigh said, already reaching over to her phone to text her husband to get upstairs immediately.

"What's happening?" Sofia asked, backing away from the bed to allow the staff room to work.

"I don't know; she didn't have a fever an hour ago. Its too high, too fast." Calleigh explained, as she and Maria gently pulled the long blonde hair back up and out of the woman's face.

"Her team is here," Sofia explained. "They are downstairs, headed up."

"Only two can be in here right now," Calleigh explained, watching the monitors. "We are going to need additional staff- I know her team wants to see her, but tell them only two for now."

Sofia nodded and sent a quick text to her boss, explaining what the doctor had just ordered. She was thankful she was not going to be the one to tell them that.

Less then two minutes later, the door swung open again and Sofia saw Ross and two unidentified men rush in. She immediately put her hand to her gun protectively, until she saw the men had identical badges to her own. This was JJ's team.

Wordlessly, she stepped aside, allowing the two men to see their friend. There were no words exchanged between the three agents, and Sofia watched as the two men stared at their friend. However, one of them seemed to be studying the monitors more closely.

"We need to give her…" Ross started but was quickly interrupted.

"No. Don't give her anything." One of the men had suddenly spoken up and took a step forward.

"Excuse me?" Ross shot back, looking at the man in disgust. "She needs medicine…"

"I know, but trust me. You cannot give her anything right now."

Ross stared at the men in shock. "Are you a doctor?" He growled, before ordering Maria to go and grab the medication.

"Yes," the man nodded, "I'm also a federal agent and Agent Jareau's colleague."

"You aren't her doctor then?" Ross asked, ready to ask the man to leave.

"No. But I know what was done to her…" Reid started. "Do not give the medication. I will explain everything I can, but do not give it to her."

"She will seize, her fever is extremely dangerous." Bristled Ross as Maria walked back in with a loaded syringe.

"Reid…" Hotch looked over at him. "She needs the medicine,"

Reid nodded. "Dr. Lucas, please. The CDC is on their way, we know what has happened to Agent Jareau, that medicine you want to give her could be the very thing that could kill her."

"Her fever could kill her; the subsequent seizure will kill her!" Ross shouted back. "Maria, give her the medicine."

Hotch stared at them, "Reid, are you sure about this?" He watched as the nurse moved forward, loaded syringe in hand.

"Yes." Reid nodded.

"Agent Jareau was being used as a medical experiment for biological warfare." Hotch shouted above the alarms, "we have identified numerous chemicals in her bloodstream that could be causing all of her symptoms. A source has reveled to us that there is a kill switch in place; it'll wipe all traces of the chemical from her system but kill her in the process." He explained quickly, "We have reason to believe that failsafe is an unknown medication. If you give her that medication, it could be what kills her."

Ross reached out, stopping Maria as she attached the syringe to one of the various tubes. "Then what do you propose we do, agent?"

Reid took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Everything you have given her before has been fine- we just cannot introduce new medications to her system right now. We can compare the chemical makeup of each drug before we give it to her, just not without that in place…"

There was silence in the tension, Maria looking back and forth between the federal agents and the doctor. Finally, Ross took a deep breath, "I will give you half an hour to figure out if I can give her this medication- she has to have something." He paused. "And we need to talk-" He pointed at Reid. "Maria, stay with her." He barked and motioned Reid out of the room.

"Follow me," he growled, heading down the hall. He didn't say another word until they entered another room, steps away from JJ. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded.

And he sat there, with Reid, listening as the agent explained everything he knew. Explained how he had studied JJ's medical records and found the chemical compound, how it would have been easy for anyone to miss. "Look man, I'm sorry for getting agitated with you in there…" Ross relented after hearing Reid explain everything.

"You were protecting her. We haven't been able to do that in a year." Reid replied.

"What do you propose we do then? Her next set of lab results is due to come back any minute and I doubt they are going to show improvement. I cannot just withhold medication."

Reid nodded. "Your records indicate she was placed in a medically induced coma."

"She was comatose when she got here; we elected to put her in one do to the severity of her injuries."

"Can you start reducing the sedatives?"

Ross' eyes went wide "excuse me? You want us to bring her out of the coma?" Reid didn't answer him. "No. Absolutely not. And even if I did start reducing the sedatives, I cannot guarantee you she would ever wake up. She could be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life. I am not willing to risk that, risk putting her body though that, putting her in that much pain."

"I'm worried that the chemicals she has been infected with are binding with the sedatives. The longer she stays sedated, the less chance she has of ever waking up. When I looked at the chemical makeup of what was found in her bloodstream, it seems to be feeding off of the sedative." Reid looked down, it was a horrific prospect they were looking at. Taking JJ off the sedative, the one thing keeping her from feeling pain, in an effort to possibly save her life.

Ross glared at him. "Let me explain something to you; she is my patient, my responsibility. I will not jeopardize putting her body though hell on a hunch the FBI may have about her condition."

"That hunch maybe the only thing that gives her a chance." Reid shot back.

Ross stopped and took a deep breath. "She doesn't have a chance, Agent Reid. We've kept her alive so you could say goodbye. The moment those machines turn off, she dies." He took another steadying breath. "and like hell I am going to let it be anymore painful then it already is."

And with that, Ross stormed out the door, leaving Reid standing alone in the doctor's lounge.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: This is an important chapter as it shows the ethical position the team and hospital is in. It may read as a filler chapter but I needed it to show**

 **exactly where everyone was standing with JJ caught in the middle. PLEASE review!**

Ross took a deep calming breath before pushing into the conference room. The FBI was there, along with at least nine of his coworkers. He didn't want to do this, and if he had to, he sure as hell did not want the FBI there intimidating his colleagues. Not for this.

They had come to an impasse; neither side willing to budge. So, the hospital ethics and legal teams had been called in to discuss the Jareau case. The FBI had invited themselves to the meeting and the hospital legal team supported them in being involved.

The argument between him and that smart-ass agent had only taken place a few hours ago; and somehow, everyone had availability for this meeting. The higher ups, the staff involved with her care, the lawyers. Everyone was available and that never happened.

"Dr. Lucas, have a seat," the chief of medicine, Talia Cruz, motioned for him to take the empty seat next to his wife. "Alright, I believe we have everyone here. Let's get this moving." She turned on a projector and everyone's eyes went to the screen. A picture of JJ when she first arrived in the emergency room was plastered on the screen. "This is Agent Jennifer Jareau; she arrived in our ER approximately four days ago. You all have all of her medical information in front of you, her condition, labs, medications and procedures. You also can make your own determinations about her prognosis but everyone should be essentially on the same page." Cruz paused and took a sip from her water bottle, watching as her staff studied the medical history.

"This woman shouldn't be alive.." one doctor said, not bothering to lower his voice and undoubtedly wondering why he was sitting in a conference room instead of spending time with his patients.

"But she is," Hotch replied calmly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Agent Hotchner of the FBI; he is Agent Jareau's supervisor."

"Why is the FBI in here?" The same arrogant doctor spat. "This is a medical ethics review hearing; they are patient's family. They have no business…"

But he was cut off quickly by Hotch. "What happens to Agent Jareau is my business, is our business. Whatever was done to her, was done on purpose." He replied coldly. "As I have explained before and as has Dr. Reid," Hotch gestured to Reid sitting next to him. "We believe Agent Jareau was being used for the development of biological warfare."

The large conference room went completely silent at the allegation. "Dr. Reid also believes the medication currently being used to keep her comatose is allowing the chemical to thrive in her system." He watched the staff squint down at the lab results in front of them.

"Which brings us to why we are here." Dr. Cruz interrupted, well aware of the tension. "It has been proposed by the FBI, by Dr. Reid, that bringing Agent Jareau out of the induced coma could be the key to saving her life."

The instant uproar voiced exactly what Ross was thinking. "Are you insane? We cannot do that? The pain she would be in? We aren't even sure she'd wake up!" Were just some of the comments Hotch heard.

"What ethical question is here?" One of the doctors asked. "If you are asking me if removing her from the sedatives would be unethical, without a shadow of a doubt, it is. There is no ethical dilemma here." Numerous doctors around him nodded their heads in apparent agreement.

Reid stood up. "We have identified the biological agent in Agent Jareau's bloodstream- it morphs like the flu virus." He bent down and picked up the labs in front of him. "If you look, you can see a direct correlation between her worsening condition and the use of sedatives."

"Agent Jareau is in grave condition, Agent Reid. There is no substantial evidence of your claim."

"Her PEEP number has increased…" Reid argued back, seeing the confused look on Hotch's face. "When she came in, it was at a ten and now it's a sixteen. Extubation doesn't normally happen until a four for five."

"We are aware of her airway requirements, agent. I would argue that her PEEP number has increased due to her deteriorating g condition. She simply cannot manage her airway. At all."

Hotch watched the arguments fly across the room, stepping in to help Reid when necessary. It went on for several hours, debating back and forth over the question at hand. Was it ethical to wean JJ off the sedatives?

"What happens if you begin to wean her off? Taper the sedatives?" Hotch asked.

"Normally, we wouldn't do it until we had a firmer grasp on the patient's condition and they were showing signs of improvement. None of which is the case for Agent Jareau. This isn't a process that takes a few minutes; it can take several hours or days. We would be putting her body though tremendous stress in the off chance you are right."

"Would she wake up?" Hotch questioned.

There was silence before Cruz spoke up. "We don't know; based on everything we have, I wouldn't think she would ever regain consciousness. But if we started weaning her and she did…" Cruz trailed off. "It's risky and I think we would be doing more harm than good."

Hotch nodded, this was truly a no win situation for anyone- especially JJ.

"Hotch, its not a good idea. I know what I am looking at," Reid whispered. "If she stays on the sedative, we know she dies. If she comes off of it, she may or may not ever wake up."

"But she will still die!" Another doctor spoke up, "this has to be done humanly. I am sure the FBI has her will? What does that state?"

Hotch paused for the briefest of moments. "She wouldn't want to live in this condition."

For another hour, the debate continued; neither side budging. The medical staff firmly believing it was unethical, Reid adamant in his position.

"She deserves a chance, and this is the chance we can give her," Hotch explained to the medical staff.

"She deserves to die with dignity, we can give her whatever dignity she has left!" Ross shot back.

"Look," Cruz stood up, "until we get a court order, Agent Jareau remains on the sedatives."

Reid looked imploring at Hotch who was trying to figure out a legal way around this. He was FBI, he could order whatever he needed, except around doctors.

"If she dies because of you refusing to try this; I will charge you with everything I can throw at you. If she dies, when she could have had a shot and you refused, you all will lose your licenses; and that'll be the least of your concerns." Hotch growled silencing the room.

"Is that a threat Agent?" Cruz asked.

"It's a promise."

And with that, Hotch stood up and walked out of the room; Reid on his heals. "You'd better be right about this Reid," Hotch pulled his phone from his pocket, "we are going to court."


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I had a review pointing out that Will should be making the decisions. I have no arguement to that EXCEPT- look at what I have put this character through... everything else in reality would not have worked either :) we will call it my creative license!**

 **I LOVE your reviews, please keep them coming. OBvisouly, this is not going to be a short story. I dont have an ending yet, but its still a ways a way :)**

Morgan stood in the small room, scanning every inch of the prison. He had decided early on that it was a prison, one that JJ had been held in for who knew how long. But something was wrong and no matter how he thought, what he took into consideration, he could not pinpoint it. It was just a gut feeling.

"You feel it too, huh?" Emily's voice interrupted Morgan's thoughts. "Something is off here."

Morgan nodded but remain silent. He, Emily and Rossi had been directed by Hotch to head to Clyde's home, to put eyes on it and search for anything and everything. He hadn't said much other then he was headed to court and Garcia and Reid were staying with JJ. Morgan could tell by the tone of Hotch's voice that now was not the time for questions- something had happened and his supervisor was furious.

Sofia had met them at the house, along with a detective the team had yet to be introduced to, Matt Kindred. After a few introductions, the team had requested to see where JJ had been held. They were prepared to meet their worst nightmare, but stopped in their tracks when Sofia led them into a small room.

"We expected to find evidence of torture, sexual assault," Sofia spoke softly. "But we haven't found that at all. We've found traces of blood which we suspect in Agent Jareau's, vomit… but not much else."

Morgan nodded and stared into the room. "God Jay- what happened to you?" he muttered looking from ground to celing, inspecting every inch of the room. His trained eyes moved, taking in everything in the nearly barren room.

"Prentiss-" Morgan took a step towards her, towards the bed that she was studying. Morgan had to turn his head away at the site of the restraints hanging loosely on the twin bed. He paused, trying to get the horrific images flashing through his mind to go away. As he looked away, something caught his attention. "What?" He cocked his head and looked up. "What do you see there?"

Emily followed his eyeline and smiled. "A camera."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hotch stood in disbelief, in shock, in a place he seldom found himself. Dependent on someone else. The judge had approved the FBI's request, provided Will consented to it.

"I've never seen anything like this, Agent Hotchner," the elderly judge had said, reading over the evidence the FBI had amassed. "The last thing I want to do is cause anymore harm to your agent…"

"I believe we are all on the same page with that, your honor," Hotch had replied.

The judge nodded but hesitated signing the order. "There needs to be some kind of protection for Agent Jareau. I cannot in good conscious sign this and leave it be. I cannot risk putting her through that." He paused and reread some of the statements in front of him. "How long does Agent Reid believe it'll take for the chemical to clear her system?"

"It's unknown sir." Hotch replied, hating that he did not have an answer. "We do firmly believe that the sedatives are keeping the chemical active. We've spoken with experts in the field of bioengineering and they validated our concerns- we have their sworn testimony in front of you."

The judge licked his lips as he read the information. "Ill sign a temporary order with the agreement that you will be back in this court room in three days with an update on her condition. If there has been no improvement or I am hearing she is in significant pain- I will revoke the order. And I want one of the treating doctors here as well." He paused again. "Agent, are you any closer to catching who did this to her?"

Hotch took a deep breath, "We are following every lead we have. We want this person."

"And you bring him to my court room, understood?" He glared at Hotch and waited for a nod before picking up the pen and signing the order that would stop the sedatives.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hotch," Morgan had been waiting for his supervisor to return his call. "Yeah- we are at Clyde's house. We've got more information." He paused and then said softly "we found a camera. We are getting the videos now, looks like Clyde took off without it. He left it here, Prentiss is with me."

"I'm on my way." Hotch replied. He hung up the phone and dialed the next contact. "Reid. The judge signed the order. Get that doctor to stop the sedatives." He didn't wait for any response as he hung up the phone and floored it to their suspect's house.

Fifteen minutes later, Hotch pulled the SUV into the gravel driveway and took a first look at the house JJ had been held in for over a year. He closed his eyes, shook his head and forced himself to move forward towards the van that was stationed outside where Morgan was waiting for him.

"Garcia is working on the film with some of the other techs. From what she has told me it is pretty damn clear," Morgan explained as they stepped into the van and took a seat next to Emily.

"I… I've pulled up what I can. It looks like he was keeping them on a cloud server, so I was able to recover a years' worth at least. But it looks like its just clips, I haven't looked much." Garcia explained, handing them each a pair of headphones.

"Are you going to watch?" Hotch asked, seeing Garica sit down without a pair.

"No." She shook her tear filled eyes. "I'm not watching what was done to my JJ. I've looped Reid in, he is able to watch the films as you do."

Hotch nodded and motioned for the agent sitting in the corner to start the film; not knowing what he was about to see.

It was hell. Watching what had happened. Garcia was right in assuming it was just clips and as they watched, they gained new insight into what had happened to their friend.

A clip of JJ attempting to fight off a man as he forced her into the room and slammed the door, leaving her alone. Another of JJ sleeping in the bed, before suddenly waking up and violently vomiting all over the floor. A clip where she was restrained to the bed, screaming as the man took a syringe and injected its contents into her skin. A clip where she was forced into the room, shivering, and clearly uncoordinated before falling and hitting her head on the concrete floor- not moving for over an hour. They watched as slowly, they saw the fight leave their friend, saw as she took the injections without a fight and Morgan had to step out when he saw a clip when the restraints were no longer necessary. The final clip showed JJ being carried into the room, and laid on the bed, her eyes closed, her arm and legs at an unnatural position- the time stamp on the video signified that this was hours before she had been discovered outside the hospital. The man had put JJ down on the bed and turned around, the mic picked up on him calling a name that was nearly impossible to make out. And in walked another man, a second man, someone up until then, the FBI had no inkling about. The team watched in horror as JJ began to seize on the bed and the two men stood back and watched it happen. For ten minutes, their friend seized and the men stood back watching…

Hotch had never felt so sick in his life.

Until the seizure stopped and he could see the blue tinge to JJ's lips. Clyde walked over and pressed his fingers to her neck and after a few seconds, "She's gone. She ain't breathing." He explained.

The other man nodded before turning on his heal, "Shoot her up and dump her." And he left the room.

Clyde stayed behind and the team watched as he stared at JJ for a solid five minutes, before leaking the room and returning a few minutes later, another syringe in his hand. "You were a good girl," he voiced as he pressed the needle into her neck and emptied the contents. "Sorry it had to end this way." He tossed the needle and came back before lifting JJ into his arms, and walking out the door.

Nobody spoke for a few minutes, nobody knew what to say. It was far worse then they had imagined. Finally, Hotch stood up. "There's a partner involved, find out who he is." He turned to Morgan and Rossi "They were taking her somewhere else, whatever they were doing to her was not done in that room."

Everyone nodded and stood to leave, except Emily.

"Hotch. Where is Will?" She asked quietly. "he needs to be here."

Hotch nodded. "He's on his way; he was trying to find someone to watch Henry. His plane should be landing in the next hour."

He glanced back at the screen, anger coursing through him. Clyde had a partner and they had no idea who he was.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: SHORT chapter but POWERFUL. Thank you for your reviews and please please keep reviewing!**

Reid stood protectively over his comatose coworker, making sure nothing would ever harm her again. At least not under his watch. At least he hoped not. He hoped he was doing the right thing by putting his friend through unbearable pain in a halfassed effort to save her life.

Because Reid knew deep down JJ's chances of survival were less then acceptable; that if she did survive, and it was a huge IF; the rehab would be extensive and lifelong. He also knew that the JJ he knew would never want to live like this. Would never want to be left in a vegetative state, left dependent on others. But he had to give her a chance to survive… didn't he?

He had hope that JJ would recover, that she could regain her strength and mobility. That she would smile at him and laugh with him again, that she would return to her job a skilled FBI agent. And at first, he truly thought that was a possibility; and then reality struck him hard and fast.

He had seen her scans, her bloodwork, her X-rays and despite his positive thinking it couldn't erase science. And the science was saying that his best friend wouldn't come back.

And he hated it; he hated thinking it and he hated admitting it. But he had to try, he had to try and save JJ's life, even at the cost of her despising him for it later. Because he was not in the position to allow JJ to live or die; that was Will. And only Will.

And Reid knew that Will knew what JJ's will had stated, she had been very clear about it. He and JJ and Will had gone out to dinner days before her abduction and the topic had come up.

"No, listen to me." JJ had smiled as she took a bite of her burger. "If something ever happens to me, I do not want to be dependent on machines for the rest of my life. Just make it easy and let me go. Make sure they take everything, I am an organ donor. But don't let my life depend on machines."

"JJ…" Will had laughed, pulling her into his embrace.

"Will, promise me." Her voice had dropped "promise me you won't do that to me."

"Do what?" He held her tight against his chest.

"Leave me like that, promise me you will let me go."

There had been silence for a moment before Will had placed a kiss on the top of her head. "JJ, why are we talking about this? Are you okay?"

"Of course I am, just with my job, I just want… want my wishes known."

"Okay, JJ. Of course I will honor that," Will had agreed, still not letting go of his wife.

"Spense, I am holding you responsible for this," JJ had looked him straight in the eye and Reid had nodded his understanding.

She had disappeared a few days later, without a trace.

And as Reid thought back on the conversation, his stomach dropped further. He had made a promise to her, and here he was, deliberately breaking it in the off chance she would ever wake up.

And it wasn't fair.

"We will find them, JJ. We will find them," He promised, grabbing her hand in his own as he watched the monitors.

The sedatives had been stopped, with extreme resistance from the doctors, but with a court order in hand, nothing could be done. The staff had refused to stop them cold turkey and instead decided to wean her down a few hours at a time.

She had now been with half the dose of sedatives for over twelve hours. If JJ was going to wake up, if she still had any shot, they would start seeing signs of that at any time. Movement, increase in heart rate, fidgeting, eye fluttering. Something. Anything.

And twelve hours after the sedatives had started to wean; Jennifer Jareau had not given any indication that she would ever come back to them.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Please review and the chapter you've been waiting for... Will is here :)**

Will had not shaved, showered or changed his clothes in well over forty-eight hours. Not since he received the call from Hotch that JJ had been found and was gravely ill in a hospital in Oklahoma. Not since he and Henry had been enjoying a Disney vacation and they had stepped off a ride to discover seven missed calls and twelves text messages from Hotch.

"Hotch…" Will had sent Henry into the nearest store and directed him to pick out anything he wanted; he knew it would occupy his son for at least a few minutes. Deep down, Will knew what it was about. "Hotch, is she okay?" He whispered, holding onto a park bench for balance; his knees threatening to give out on him.

"Will, we found her," there was a pause, "but we need you here. JJ needs you here."

And Will had done everything in his power to get to his wife as soon as possible but there had been one disaster after another. It was as if hell was throwing everything it could at him in an attempt to get to his JJ- but come hell or high water, Will had promised Hotch he would be there. And despite having to drag his son from his dream vacation after only a few hours, despite having to find an emergency flight back home, despite having to find a babysitter that could take care of Henry for an undetermined amount of time and despite the enormous price of a first class air fare ticket (nothing else was available), Will arrived at the hospital almost sixty hours after Hotch's call. Far too long in his opinion to be away from JJ.

Hotch had stopped him as he had plowed into the ICU, scaring staff with his ragged appearance. Hotch had to vouch for him and tell him to change his clothes and shower before seeing JJ; not allowing Will to see her until he had calmed down.

"Will, we don't know what she can smell, hear, anything. If, for some reason, she determines you are here and in this condition, it wont be good for her." Hotch knew it was a stretch, but he couldn't allow Will in in his state. "I don't care if you use baby wipes and dry shampoo and wear scrubs- but you have to do something." He had ordered and lead him away from the room.

Will had been livid at first, but understood immediately why Hotch had demanded it. It was for Will's own sake as well as JJ's. The shower, shave and clean clothes had helped calm him; the sandwich and apple had stabilized his blood sugar and he was finally able to think with his head instead of emotions.

And now, finally, for the first time in over a year, he was holding his wife's hand protectively in his own. Reid and Hotch had updated him on her current condition as well as some case information. And then, they had stepped outside, leaving Will alone with his wife.

He had stared at her, silent for a few hours, not knowing what to say; just grateful that she was finally safe with him. Grateful that he would get to say goodbye.

"Jay," he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, careful of the machines and bruises that littered her body. "I'm here, I'm here. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to you, but I'm here." He squeezed her hand. "We are all here. The team is here, they are searching without pause for whoever did this to you. You know they will find them and you know Hotch will make sure they never see the light of day again."

He bowed his head, fighting to keep the tears away. "I brought you a few things. I just have to get the nurses to help me, I don't want to hurt you. I brought you your favorite t-shirt you always sleep in and the blanket from the couch. Henry told me to bring you his favorite teddy bear, so Barry is here also." Will reached into his bag and pulled out the blanket, before placing it gently over his wife. She seemed to vanish underneath it, her petite frame swallowed by the large plaid blanket Will had bought her years before. It had always been her favorite and he distinctly recalled how many times she had fallen asleep under the same blanket and he had picked her up from the couch and carried her to bed.

"And I would give you Barry, but I am sure the nurses would ban me. It has to be covered with germs. I will wash him and bring him back- I just cannot give him to you yet." He gently smoothed the blanket over JJ before sitting back down.

"Jay- I don't know what to do. I am lost without you, but I cannot stop thinking of our conversation a few days before…." He paused, not able to speak the words. "And I know you don't want this, you begged me not to allow this. And I don't want to, Jay. Reid thinks you have a chance but I just don't know what your quality of life would be and I cannot let you suffer." A tear rolled down his cheek. "I've spoken with the doctors and they believe you will be dependent on machines and I can't… I cannot do that to you." He bowed his head again. "Hotch and I have spoken, I have your will and I know what it says. But Jay, I want to give you a chance- but I need you to give me a sign. Any sign that you want to keep fighting. If you don't want to, I will fight for you, be your voice. And as much as it kills me JJ, I wont let you suffer." He didn't bother to stop the tears spilling onto his wife's hands. "I don't want you in pain, I don't want you to hurt, you deserve to be at peace- and if you want to fight, you keep fighting. If you want me to take it from here—I will do anything for you Jay. Henry and I will be okay, we will be devastated but we will be okay. Don't let us hold you here, don't suffer for us. Henry will always know and love you, and I hope you know the same holds true for me. You fought JJ, you won- but the next move is your choice, your decision. Just know I will never stop loving you."

He held her hand tighter, growing silent, not noticing Hotch standing in the doorway, having listened to the conversation. He held her hand and squeezed it.

And he felt the tiniest of squeezes back.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: So my computer is on the outs... I need to buy a new one. I had to type this chapter in an email; it isnt long because I don't have the patience for that and the email box was so small!**

 **Please review:**

Ross could not believe what he was seeing; couldn't believe a lot of what he was seeing. That punk FBI agent had been right and it took everything in him to admit it. But the science didn't lie and as he scanned Agent Jareau's bloodwork and scans for the tenth time, he couldn't help but smile. If it meant Agent Jareau surviving, he would happily admit he was wrong- he just didn't know if it was true. Because while she was showing signs of being more aware and alert, her body was still critically ill. Her bloodwork still looked horrific, and they had a new worry. One that he was not about to focus on right now; one that until he was certain, he was not going to puncture the happiness that seemed to be infecting the ICU with news of Agent Jareau's improving condition But he also knew she was far from out of the woods; he still didn't know the extent of brain damage she had, if any, if she would ever speak again, breathe on her own again, walk. She was completely dependent on their care for every aspect of her suvvial; there was just too many unknowns for him to celebrate a survival. Not yet.

Sighing, he stood up and headed towards the small room, nodding at the guard outside the door. He smiled as he heard Maria speaking to the woman as she emptied the syringe into one of the many tubes. "Girl," Maria was saying, nothing bother to lower her voice, "that husband of yours- he's a looker and he is madly in love with you! I had to kick him out of here for a few hours, he was starting to smell. But I have very clear instructions from him- that if you wake up, I have to call him immediatly."

Ross laughed and stepped foward "I think they've been watching too many television dramas. Everyone alwiays thinks comatoase patients just open their eyes and start talking like nothing ever happened," he pressed his stechascope to JJ's chest, listenignt to her heart.

Maria cocked an eyebrow at him and pointed her finger, "I heard you owe someone an apolgy." She smiled as she prepared the soap and water, ready to give her patient a bath.

"Me?" Ross looked up at her.

"Yes, you! That adorable Agent Reid! He was right..."

"We don't know that for a fact yet, I..."

"Oh no. You can just turn around with that nonsense. Only postivie vibes allowed in this room; isnt that right JJ?" Maria reached out and gently ran the warm cloth down JJ's face. Almost immediatly, JJ's turned her head slgihtly away. ""Look at you showing off!" Marie cooed as Ross moved in closer.

He grabbed his penlight and bent down, "Agent Jareau, I just need to look in your eyes," he explained as he gently lifted one of her eyelids and shined the bright light into them; they instantly got the same reaction. "You don't like that, huh?" He laughed. "Okay, if you can squeeze my finger," he placed his finger in her hand, "and squeeze. I'll leave you alone, how about that? No more annoying light." He didn't have to wait long; almost instantly, she squeezed his finger. "Okay, a promise is a promise." He laughed, helping Maria drape a clean blanket over her.

Maria laughed, "I wonder what she's like as an FBI agent when she's this fiesty this sick."

"i'd hate to be on her bad side," Ross muttered, as he crossed his arms.

"I think you are; she didnt like you messing with her."

Ross nodded, "fair point, I don't balme her though." He paused for a moment, "how often is she moving around?"

Maria shook her head, "not unless someone provokes her; I don't think she likes being touched."

Ross nodded, it was completely understandable. "I think we have time; the FBI isnt going to like it but..."

Maria bowed her head, "I already know where you are going with this one Ross. But we don't have a choice."

Ross was about to comment when a knock came at the door and a familer face walked in smiling at them.

"Good morning, Dr. Ross, ma'am," the elderly gentleman said as he approached JJ's bedside.

"Good morning, Minister," Ross reached out to shake the kind man's hand. "What brings you here?"

The minister smiled politly as he looked down at JJ. "I've heard ot the miracleous turnaround this young woman has made and I had to see it for myself. The Lord is working through her."

"Amen!" Maria responded quikcky and stepped out the way so that the minister could stand next to JJ.

He reached down and placed his hand on her forehead and JJ turned her head away quickly and violently. "Wow..." Maria gasped. "She really doesn't like to be touched."

The minster nodded and removed his hand before reaching for her hand, "maybe its just her face, I don't blame her," He grabbed her hand and the same response occured, JJ pulled her hand away. "Okay, okay, I will leave you alone," he cooed before backing away. "Thank you both for taking such phenomenal care of her; would it be accetable for me to step back in later? Maybe she'll like me then." He smiled and stepped away.

"Nice guy," Maria said as she finsihed her task, leaving JJ in the careful hands of Ross.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: The creep factor is at a 10 on this chapter; remember how a while ago I had made an ANs about some sci fy stuff? It carries over into this chapter- however- it isn't much and most prob wont notice it! PLEASE keep in mind, this is fiction- nothing here is real. Deal? Also- language warning in this chapter. Please review:**

Minister George Leaff kept his appearance up, his smile, his calm voice and pleasant demeanor until he was five minutes away from the hospital. Then he pulled his car to the side of the road, ripped off his jacket and pulled out he burner phone before dialing his partner's number.

"Yeah, did you see her?" He asked, looking down at the pen affixed to the outside of his breast pocket.

"She's not supposed to be moving like that," Clyde growled back, "She's not supposed to be moving at all!"

Leaff laughed, "She fought off everything we gave her, you don't expect a little coma to keep her down, do you?"

There was a moment of silence before Clyde hissed back over the phone, "Do you realize the shithole we have found ourselves in? If she wakes up, not if now, but when she wakes up; she will talk or write or communicate to her FBI buddies everything we did to her. She will lead them right to us." He paused for the briefest of moments, "and you know they will not stop until they have us."

"Look," Leaff began, "from what I saw, she has a long way to recovery. The doctors know there will be complications, they just don't know what! She may have enough brain damage that she can't remember us at all."

"And you know what I saw?" Clyde roared, "when you took her hand?"

"That she moved?" Leaff answered sarcastically, taking a sip from his water bottle.

"That she still has the scar on her hand- they haven't found it yet. And when they do, if we aren't there first, they will know everything we've done."

Leaff licked his lips and nodded, "What do we need to do?"

"We're running out of time, once she wakes up, it'll be a lot harder to finish this job. You get back in there, get the chip, kill her, and never look back."

"In case you weren't aware, bud; it's going to be pretty difficult to off her. She is surrounded by armed guards at all times."

"You're a fucking minister, buddy up with her husband and offer to sit with her, pray, whatever you need. All you'll need to do is give her a dissolvable tablet, it's completely undetectable and you just put it under her tongue and get the fuck out."

Leaff shook his head, "You want me to murder an FBI agent?"

"You had no problem with it when she was with us."

"And neither did you!"

"Look, fine, I'll do it, but if I get caught, you're going down with me." And he hung up the phone before ripping off the camera that had been cleverly disguised as a pen. Clyde had seen JJ and knew that as her condition improved, his chances of surviving the FBI dwindled.

He sat back in his chair tucked away in a buried bunker just minutes from the hospital. He thought about it all, the abduction, how long she had been with them, the drug that had been adjusted depending on its effects on her body. And they had been so close, he thought he had found it, the biochemical weapon that would hold the government hostage. And then the bitch survived.

And he knew how; he was the sole person who knew how she had survived. He knew the only thing keeping her alive was a dose of medication he had administered that had restarted her breathing, lowered her body temperature. It wasn't perfect- far from it. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would have lifelong complications ranging in severity. But he now had both the cause and cure. He had everything. He just needed her back to complete the sequence- to finish the job.

But first, he had to get rid of any witnesses. Starting with Leaff.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: WOOT! Two chapters in one day. Warning this one is hard to read. So the font in italics is a flashback (sort of) and helps explain what happened to JJ (so its in the past) regular font will mean present time!**

 _JJ had not expected anything to happen on August 8_ _th_ _, 2017; it was supposed to be as normal a day as ever within the confines of her career. Which always meant anything could happen, she was always prepared for the worst to happen and she always knew that every day she left with work- there was a chance she would not come home. She just did not know that August 8_ _th_ _, 2017, was that date. She and Morgan had been canvasing a crime scene, a vacant apartment building. They had no inclination, not a clue that there was any danger lurking._

 _"_ _Alright, I'll take the basement," She had joked with Morgan, knowing he hated basements._

 _"_ _Are you sure? I can come with you," Morgan had offered, having an odd feeling about the entire complex; one that he could not explain._

 _"_ _Morgan, its hotter then hell here; the dogs have swept the complex. We divide and conquer, and we get out of here faster." She had replied confidentially, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "And I want some ice cream…"_

 _Morgan couldn't help but laugh at that, "I'll buy you some ice cream once we get out of here."_

 _"_ _Deal. You better not be joking with me, Morgan!" She turned her back on him and grabbed her flashlight as she descended the long staircase. It gave her an eerie feeling, the steps creaked and spider webs hung from the walls and banister. She shined the flashlight beam on the ground and saw multiple layers of dust, cobwebs and animal droppings; nobody had trekked down here in years._

 _"_ _Gross," she had muttered as she heard a crunch and saw that she had stepped on a small animal skull. Shivering slightly at the dampness in the air, she had continued through the dark, moldy basement; concentrating on listening for anything out of the ordinary._

 _She had had no time to react. She had just stepped forward when a hidden door swung open on her right and something painful had stuck her neck. Instantly, her world began to swim, and she stumbled forward, her gun falling from her grip. Her heart began racing, her head pounding, her legs went numb and she collapsed to the floor; her world fading to darkness._

 _The last thing she heard was a male voice whispering to her. "You're perfect."_

 _And then her world had gone dark._

 _JJ had woken up hours later, restrained to a bed; unable to move. Her mouth was dry and aside from fear, she was desperately thirsty._

 _"_ _Here," someone had spoken to her, placing a medicine dropper in the mouth, "its water."_

 _JJ didn't take it, didn't swallow, although she was desperate; she could feel her lips cracking and bleeding. "It's not poisoned, I promise. Look," he took the dropper and held it a few inches above his mouth before dropping a few drops of water. "See?" He swallowed. "Let's try again, shall we?" He gently pressed the dropper to her mouth and instinctively, JJ swallowed. "That's a good girl;" the man had cooed, refilling the dropper and letting her drink twice more._

 _JJ took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, trying to remember what the hell had happened. "I am an FBI agent…" her voice was hoarse and it hurt to talk._

 _"_ _We know; you're still wearing your vest darling." He had tapped the Kevlar JJ was wearing. "We weren't about to take your clothes off." JJ watched as he reached over and grabbed her right wrist, turning it over so that her palm was facing up before tightening the restraint so that she couldn't move it._

 _"_ _What did you do to me?" She tried to pull her arm away, but to no avail; her left arm, while still restrained, had a tiny bit more give._

 _"_ _It was a blow dart, well, a high-powered blow dart. It was filled with a sedative." He laughed "took you down pretty quick; guess that chemical compound works." He stepped away and JJ watched him, nervously._

 _He came back wearing plastic gloves, with a large syringe in hand. "Okay, I am sorry I have to do this to you- it'll just sting for a minute and then it'll be numb." He sat on a stool near where her right wrist was restrained and began poking at the skin._

 _"_ _What…" JJ instantly began pulling away._

 _"_ _No, no honey, don't move. You don't want me to miss." With one hand he held her wrist down, and with the other, he took the large needle and slipped it under her skin. JJ instantly felt the burn and began fighting, trying to pull away. "I know, honey. I know, it burns but we are almost done." He retracted the needle and JJ took a deep breath, feeling the need to vomit. "Okay- here we go." JJ turned her head just in time to see another needle being pressed into her skin- and this time she screamed._

JJ thrashed around in the hospital bed, having not regained consciousness. The staff could not figure out what was going on and Will stood in the back corner with Hotch and Reid. The thrashing had started quickly and with JJ not able to communicate with them; they were at a loss.

"Ross, her heart rate is too high." Maria had said, quickly moving tubes out of the way.

Ross nodded, his gaze alternating between the monitor and his patient. She wasn't seizing, he knew that; this was not seizure activity, although he would defiantly be checking for that as soon as she was calm.

"Will," Ross called, "I need you to come and talk to her; I don't know what's going on but believe this is due to the sedatives being withdrawn." He had never seen this sort of reaction, but Agent Jareau made him also realize everything he thought he knew about medicine needed to be thrown out the window. "Can you please come and talk to her, try and calm her down?"

Will nodded and stepped forward, sitting next to JJ. "Jay, I'm here, I'm right here, honey; you're okay, you are safe." He said softly, caressing her cheek and cringing at how clammy she felt. Something was wrong. Will leaned in closer, wanting JJ to hear him, feel him, smell him- hoping that her senses would kick in and she would relax. "Right here, Jay. I'm right here," he reached over and took her right hand in his, holding it loosely as she continued to thrash around. "JJ; you are safe, you are loved, and you are not going anywhere. Nobody is going to hurt you, listen to my voice." He tried desperately, seeing the worried look on Ross' face.

He stood up and kissed her forehead, speaking softly to her and at his soft kiss, the thrashing began to slow, her heartrate began to drop to a safer level, "there's my girl," he sat down again and took her hand in his, looking down at the pale skin. Something stopped him.

"What is that?" He glared at Ross

"What?" Ross stepped forward, looking down at where Will was focused. An angry red scar was livid against the skin and gently, Ross ran his thumb over it. Instantly, JJ began thrashing again. "I'm sorry, love." He said, pulling his hand away. "Will, I don't know; I'll have to get a better look at it; she's too agitated right now but there is something there" Ross noticed blood on the sheets, and while he was not concerned about the amount of blood, he realized something had been pulled out and he couldn't wait any longer.

"Will, listen to me carefully. You have two choices here and a choice has to be made now. JJ is clearly agitated, I don't know if its pain or something else, but we have to do something. She's already torn out some of the medical devices- we cannot allow her to tear out anything else. I am afraid if we leave her like this, the next thing she will tear out is the trach tube and that will be deadly."

Will stared at him in shock. "What.. what do you need me to do?"

"We have to restrain her Will; we can do it chemically or physically, but we have to. She is going to hurt herself and her body cannot take any more stress."

"Restrain her?" He asked, horrified.

"Only until she calms down;" Ross glanced at the machines. "Chemically, would be ideal but not in her situation, physically, I'd hate to do it to her, but it's the lesser of two evils."

"What… what does that mean?"

Ross reached out and moved JJ's hands away as they began going towards the tube in her neck. "We would just restrain her wrists to the bed; so that she cannot move them."

"For how long?" Will looked back down at JJ.

"Until she has calmed down. It's that or the chemical restraint."

Will swallowed, not liking any choice. "Reid- what…"

Reid nodded, knowing the doctor was correct. "Physical restraints." He said softly, "physical restraints would be better... for right now."

Will looked back and forth between the two, and then his wife. "I'm so sorry, Jay," he pressed his hand to her forehead and nodded his head, giving the staff consent to restrain his wife.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Please review they make me smile :)**

Leaff smiled as he strolled through the hospital, nodding his head at the staff as he headed towards the ICU. It had been two days since he had last been at the hospital and he needed to keep up his appearance, his role in the hospital, at least for the next few hours. Then he would be on a plane to Singapore with no inclination of ever coming back. He just had to get through the next few hours. The plan was set, and he and Clyde had spent hours devising the plan that couldn't fail.

There was a plan B as well; in case plan A went sideways.

"Good morning, Minister!" He flashed a smile at one of the nurses as he entered the ICU, keeping his hands in his pocket.

"Mornin', I have a few lovely people I would like to see today!" He grinned. "Anyone in particular you want me to visit?"

"Agent Jareau has had a rough few days; maybe you can work some magic?" The nurse explained.

"Really," he knitted his eyebrows in mock concern, "I thought she was improving."

The nurse sighed and stepped over towards him before lowering his voice. "Dr. Ross is concerned about a number of things that are just now becoming evident."

"Like what?" Leaff asked, casually leaning against the counter. The pen still affixed to his breast pocket; Clyde could hear and see everything. A small earpiece allowed Leaff to hear Clyde.

"Her heart for starters, he is worried that whatever was given to her has impacted her heart. Cardiology is meeting today to discuss it; but it doesn't look good." In his earpiece, he heard Clyde laugh. "She's been extremely agitated lately, and we aren't sure if it's from pain, anxiety, we just don't know."

"Has she regained consciousness?"

The nurse shook her head, "No; she'll move if you touch her though; she really despises being touched. She'll relax if her husband does, but it takes a bit to calm her down. Dr. Ross found a wound on her wrist; it looks bad. He wants to examine it but cannot touch it without her fighting back. They've restrained her, so she won't accidently hurt herself; it's just a sad situation. So, we are doing everything we can to avoid touching her right now; but it's hard when she requires so much medical care."

"I'll defiantly check in on her today then, anything else I should know about her?"

The nurse shook her head, "Don't touch her, it sends her heart rate escalating. I cannot tell you how many times we've run into her room thinking the worst and it's just because someone touched her."

'Damn it' Leaff heard Clyde hiss in his ear.

"Thank you, ma'am. Is her husband with her?"

"Yes, won't leave her side."

Leaff smiled, "I'll see if I can get him to step out for a quick bite to eat." And he stepped away, heading for the ICU room. He reached it and took a deep breath before nodding to the guard at the door and walking in.

"Sir?" He reached his hand out to Will. "My name is Minister Leaff, I work for the hospital. The staff asked me to step in and check on your wife."

Will stood up and shook his hand, "Did the FBI clear you?"

Leaff nodded, "they are aware I am here." He stepped closer. "I've heard your wife's story, she is incredibly brave and strong."

"She is," Will nodded, "She is a fighter."

Leaff smiled, "I spoke to the nurse and she advised me that you won't leave her side." Will shook his head. "I am here, I have nobody else to see;" he reached down and pulled out his wallet, handing Will some cash. "The hospital food is notorious for wreaking havoc on the strongest of stomachs. Go grab yourself something to eat; the hospital cafeteria has a phenomenal cook named Mitch and his food is exempt from the rest of the cafeteria; his burgers are some of the best I ever tasted." Leaff reached over and put his hands on Will's shoulders. "You cannot help her if you aren't healthy. Take half an hour, the staff is here, I am here. I've been warned not to touch her. I won't do anything except pray."

He saw Will considering it, glancing back at JJ. "The FBI has cleared you?" he asked hesitantly.

"I've worked in this hospital for many years; am good friends with Dr. Ross and Maria. I have background checks clearing me in this hospital."

Will rubbed his eyes, exhausted from the nights emotional toll; he couldn't think straight, and he knew he needed to eat. "I'll be back in ten minutes," He reached down and gave JJ a gentle kiss before walking out of the room.

Leaff nodded and smiled, watching as Will left the room before he turned to the guard, "We're clear," the guard nodded and shut the door, allowing Leaff to lock it.

He was in.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Let me know what you think!**

Maria tapped her foot as she sat at the nurse's station, charting updates on her patients. As an ICU nurse, the most she would have at one time were two; and she was beyond thankful for that. Today, her shift covered one of the most critically ill patients in the unit, Agent Jareau. Maria was starting to have an inkling of hope that maybe, just maybe, the woman who the entire hospital was rooting for, may have a chance.

She knew that if this woman woke up, the road to recovery would be long with no guarantees of what the future would look like. Ross had spoken to her in confidence over his concern of brain damage, seizures, blindness, deafness, paralysis; the list went on and on. And earlier that day, the cardiologist had delivered another blow- her heart was failing. Blood work and test after test had confirmed it; they had long suspected it, but today it had been confirmed.

The only option was a transplant, and, in her condition, Maria knew the transplant team wouldn't even look at her. It was a no-win situation right now. Agent Jareau needed to improve for the transplant team to evaluate, her failing heart was aiding in crippling her recovery. They were stuck for now.

So, Maria did what she could medically and then prayed when she was at home. She prayed for her recovery, her restored health and for the people responsible to be brought to justice; and she left it at that.

She was just finishing up on her last bit of documentation when something caught her attention; the monitors in front of her were showing an increasingly erratic heartbeat and other concerning vitals that were rapidly heading the wrong way.

Maria jumped up, calling for Ross as she ran to JJ's room, hoping some idiot had just touched her and set the poor woman into a panic. But the monitors didn't show that- instead they showed that she was in trouble and heading towards cardiac arrest. Ross reached the door at the same time.

Both hit the door and stopped. It was locked. "Open the door!" Ross banged on it with his fist, kicking it, growing more desperate as the alarms screamed louder. "OPEN THE DOOR!" He screamed before turning to Maria. "Call security now!"

Ross looked around, where the hell was the guard? Where was the FBI, her husband, anyone? He kept banging, kicking, throwing his shoulder into the door, desperate to get to his patient. He felt his own heartrate skyrocketing, his anxiety high as he did everything he could to get the door open- three other male doctors and nurses joining him, throwing themselves against the door.

It didn't budge- and the monitors became monotone. There was no heartbeat- there was no way in. And nobody was coming fast enough.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leaff had made sure the door was locked and barricaded as soon as the guard had shut the door. He was on the first floor and his escape plan was through the window- he knew he only had one shot at it.

He had then gone to the window and pressed it open, bypassing the locks by using a glass cutter that would allow him to quickly and safely exit the hospital room once it went to hell.

"We're good." He whispered to Clyde as he approached JJ. "Are you sure this is going to do it?"

"Positive," Clyde said back, as he watched from his safe hideaway. "Give it to her and get the hell out, it will take about ten minutes. It's designed with a delay, so you can get out."

Leaff rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket pulling out a tablet. "What do I do with it?" He held it in his hands, the small white round pill would kill this woman in a matter of minutes- it was as good as holding a gun to her head.

"Just open her mouth and put it under her tongue; it's dissolvable so she won't need to swallow; it's just observed in her bloodstream."

"Easy enough."

"You'll need to wait- her vitals will slowly start going to hell, and then you bolt. We have this one chance; I also gave you a syringe; its filled with a backup. If, for some reason, you cannot get her mouth open or you drop the tablet, use the syringe."

"Whatever," Leaff walked over to JJ and reached down, touching her arm. Instantly, she recoiled. "What do you want me to do about the damn chip?"

"Cut it out of her, give her the tablet first, wait, then cut it and run."

Leaff ran his hand over his mouth and took a deep breath, "Open up," and he dropped the tablet under her tongue and watched as it disintegrated into nothing.

He waited and watched, watched the monitors as they began blinking, numbers flashing and turning from green to red. Then they began to beep before wailing. Instantly, Leaff heard running and then banging at the door- he was out of time.

"Sorry love," He said and used the knife, to slice open her skin, recovering the chip as the commotion outside and in became louder.

And then the alarms showed a flat line. It had worked.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: This is a short chapter but a turning point in the story. Please let me know what you think; I cannot tell you enough how the reviews make me smile!**

 **Also, do I have any followers who know how to make a video fanfic? PM me :)**

"Where the hell is security?" Ross screamed as he continued to throw himself against the door; it wasn't budging, and he was sure he had broken his shoulder. But he refused to give up- and then it hit him. They couldn't wait for security to show up, his patient couldn't wait any longer. JJ's neurosurgeon was one of the doctors working to pry open the door; her orthopedic surgeon as right next to him.

"Go get it!" Ross had suddenly yelled at them; and with a flash of realization, both men knew exactly what he was taking about, and the orthopedic surgeon took off. Ross only hoped he would be back in a few minutes; he couldn't keep up with the door.

"Ross?" Ross turned and saw Agents Morgan and Hotch running at him, concern apparent on their faces.

"Someone.. is in.. there with her," He huffed, backing away from the door as the FBI drew their weapons, "Door is barricaded… can't get in…" He doubled over, desperate to catch his breath as Hotch and Morgan began kicking the door.

"Move!" One of the security officers had finally arrived, his key ring in his hands and a tool in the other. Everyone backed away as the officer stuck the key in the lock and tried to turn it. "it's jammed, they jammed it…" he hissed trying to pull back the now stuck key.

Hotch looked at Morgan, "Go around, she has a window." Morgan didn't need to be told twice, he took off running down the hallway, desperate to get to his friend.

"Ross!" Hotch and Ross turned to see one of the surgeons running back to them, the large circular saw in his hands. Ross looked up and opened his hands, gesturing for his coworker to toss the expensive medical device.

"You're going to have to do it," Ross handed the orthopedic saw over to Hotch, his shoulder hanging at an unnatural angle. Ross turned on the saw and gave it to Hotch, watching as the agent immediately pressed the rotating blade to the door and around the doorknob. Almost instantly, Ross saw the door begin to give; he looked behind him and saw his own team, his skilled team of nurses and respiratory therapists ready to rush in to save the life of their patient.

And as soon as that door budged enough, Ross saw Hotch's expression change from worry to absolute anger; his gun in his hand as he and the security officer waited half a second for the door to fall.

And as it did; multiple gunshots pierced the air.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Leaff held the small chip in his hand, relief washing over him as he grasped it tight. Freedom was inches away- and as he turned to head to the window, a voice sounded in his head.

"You were a good friend, partner. You did everything I asked, you were the perfect fool. But now you are a liability and I have no doubt you will turn me into the FBI as soon as you are out of the country. I am sorry it must end this way, but I have no option."

Leaff froze, unable to move as he heard the words. "What…"

"I am sorry…"

"If you do this, the FBI will find my body, they will find the chip and they will track it to you."

"I don't need the chip, its information has been uploaded to a cloud server, I had you retrieve it to stall, to have you stay in with her just a bit longer…" he paused, "And that chip will only lead them back to you. It's been wiped of all other information.

Leaff turned towards JJ, his eyes building as he realized what was happening. "Goodbye," and Leaff looked down as he saw a sniper's point on his chest. He knew it was over, knew his life was gone and in one desperate last act, while he knew the FBI was outside, he yelled out one word that he knew they would hear: "Tulsa." He didn't have time to move again before the bullet pierced his chest and he fell to the floor in a bloody heap just as the FBI made entry.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Okay, I know people were getting anxious about JJ here is your answer. Please review, it makes me feel happy! Also, this is NOT short story; obviously we are already 21 chapters in and still don't know a whole lot! So hang in there!**

Will bent over the toilet, vomiting everything in his system. He tried to stand up but instantly feel back on his heals before rocking forward and vomiting again. There was nothing left in his system, yet, every time he tried to sit down, he would vomit again. Sweat poured down his face, mixing with his tears.

He was losing his wife. JJ had sustained prolonged cardiac arrest, she had been without a heartbeat for close to six minutes by the time Will had arrived. He had arrived to see absolute chaos outside of JJ's room; to see Hotch, Reid, Morgan, Rossi and Emily with guns drawn, to see and hear monitors blaring. He saw the staff pounding hard on his wife's chest as the FBI surrounded someone on the floor.

"JJ!" he had screamed, running in. "What happened? JJ!" He had screamed, fighting his way to his wife, begging her to stay with him, with them. "Do something!" He yelled at the doctors, shrugging off the hands that grabbed his shoulders. "JJ, c'mon baby," he cried, not realizing that Morgan had grabbed him and was firmly pulling him away and out the door.

As soon as they were out of the room, Will had bolted down the hallway and into the men's bathroom where he had collapsed in front of the toilet.

He had no idea how long he was there, he just knew his legs wouldn't carry him out the door. "JJ…" He buried his face in his hands and sobbed, his entire body wracked with tremors. He barely heard the door swing open but felt the presence of someone near him and putting their hand on his shoulder. Will didn't look up.

"Will…" the voice began, and Will instantly knew it was Hotch. Will tried to take in a deep breath but couldn't even do that without more tears falling. He knew his wife was gone. "Will listen to me carefully. JJ is alive, okay? They saved her…"

Will's heart stopped, "What?" He asked, hoping he hadn't heard it wrong.

"JJ is alive, they got her heart beating again. They are moving her to a more secure room right now, Dr. Ross is having a lot of tests and blood work done; she responded well to the CPR."

Will nodded but kept his hands over his face, trying to calm himself down. "What.. what happened?"

Hotch bit his lip, what had happened? "We are working on that right now. A man was shot in her room and it wasn't by us. He left us some evidence we are going through."

"What did he do to her, Hotch?"

Hotch shook his head, "We don't know yet, we found a wrapping that we believe was holding some kind of medication; we haven't found it yet. We think he gave it to her. He was also carrying a syringe."

Will nodded, putting the clues together.

"Will, he's alive. He survived and is in another unit. We are hoping one he wakes up, he can tell us what happened to JJ and lead us to his partner."

In an instant, Will felt the rage wash over his body and he stood up. "Where is he?" He growled, wanting to kill the man who had done this.

Hotch reached out his hand, stopping Will in his tracks. "Rossi is with him; he isn't going anywhere."

Will took a deep breath and nodded. "Can I see my JJ?"

Hotch nodded and gestured out the door, leading Will down a hallway. "They've moved her to the other side of the unit; chief of the hospital is already allowing bullet proof windows to be placed in the room." Hotch didn't add that they knew JJ would be there for the foreseeable future and the windows would help the hospital avoid a massive lawsuit. "Will, there is one more thing, " Hotch stopped him steps from JJ's new room. "He cut her, she needed stiches, Dr. Ross insisted on doing them himself."

"Cut her?"

Hotch nodded, "You pointed out the irritation on her wrist a few days ago, its exactly where he cut. We think he cut something out of her."

"Son of a bitch." Will shook his head before pushing past Hotch and rushing to his wife.

"Will…" Ross cracked his neck; he was ready for a fight, ready for this man to scream at him for letting this happen to his wife.

But instead, Will turned and pulled Ross into an unexpected bear hug, "thank you- thank you for saving her life. Thank you for saving my JJ." And all Ross could do was nod.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: I apologize for the delay! I've broken another computer... anyways, PLEASE review- they make me smile!**

Hotch stood outside a private hospital room, waiting for one of the doctors to step out and speak with him. He had been waiting three days for this, and now it finally seemed time. Reid was by his side and the two of them both worked to keep their anger subdued.

They were finally going to speak with Leaff; they were finally able to interview him. And Hotch knew he was going to make the man pay dearly for everything he had done to his agent. "Where is Will?"

Reid looked behind him, "With JJ, Garcia is keeping him busy; he has no idea that Leaff has woken up."

Hotch nodded, "We are going to need to move Leaff as soon as we can. The prison hospital can handle him. He is safer there anyway."

Reid nodded, agreeing with his supervisor. If Will got wind that this excuse for a human being was awake, Reid had no doubt that Leaff would leave the hospital alive. They had to work quickly.

"As soon as he is cleared, I want him transferred to maximum security, no waiting. Get him out of here." Hotch ordered as the doctor stepped out of the room.

"Agents," the doctor nodded at them, well aware that the two men were itching to get inside. "He's in pain, but he'll live."

"When can he be discharged?" Hotch asked.

The doctor arched his eyebrow and smiled; "I know what this man has done, if you ask me, I can have him discharged this afternoon."

Hotch looked at him, "Is he medically cleared?"

"He will be. He's healthy, he's fine, I'll discharge him with meds that the prison can handle. I don't want him here anymore then you do."

Hotch nodded and shook the doctor's hand before walking into the private room; a guard stood at the door. "Take a few minutes," Hotch ordered as he stepped into the room behind Reid and made sure the door was locked.

"Who are you?" Leaff grunted at them, trying to adjust himself but having difficulty with one arm cuffed to the bed.

"FBI." Hotch growled, not wanting to give this man an inch of respect. "We're here to talk to you about Agent Jareau." His voice remained steady but deadly serious.

"Who?"

"You know who, you know exactly who." Hotch replied almost instantly. "So let me make this exceptionally clear to you before we go any further. We know you are involved with Agent Jareau's disappearance, we know you did something to her and we know you just tried to kill her. I already have you on abduction of federal agent, sexual assault, attempted murder…"

"I did not rape her!" Leaff shot at him, "I never touched her like that."

Hotch glared at him and continued as if he had not been interrupted. "and I will charge you with absolutely everything I can and guarantee you will never see the light of day again."

"Then why should I help?"

"Because I can make whatever is left of your life more horrific then you could ever imagine. I can make sure you are never up for parole, and that your prison cell is in the most restrictive area you can imagine. I will pull every string, every card I have with every jail to make sure you spend the rest of your life wishing you had the death penalty."

"How the hell is that supposed to convince me to talk?" Leaff spat growing increasingly agitated as the enormity of his legal situation began to sink in.

"If you cooperate, you still won't see the light of day ever again. But I may find a nicer maximum-security prison where I may or may not allows the guards to let the other prisoners know what you did…"

"They'd celebrate me like a hero."

"I never said I would tell them the truth; child molesters don't last long" Hotch took a deep breath, "if you talk and you tell everything, it won't come from me what you did."

"You can't do this, you can't threaten me like this, I have rights."

"I don't give a damn about your rights. As far as I am concerned, you waived those rights the moment you laid a hand on my agent. You going to talk or not? I walk out that door in five seconds and I will make damn good on my threat." Hotch looked at his watch and began counting backwards.

"You can't…"

"Four.."

"Look man!" Leaff began panicking.

"Three…" Leaff was sweating at this point, "Two," Hotch turned on his heal "one."

"Stop! Stop, I'll talk but I want a guarantee that you won't say a word about what happened to the other prisoners."

Hotch looked at Reid before nodding. "I won't say a word, provided you tell me everything."

Leaff swallowed and grimaced in pain, "what do you want to know?"


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Creep factor of 10 on this chapter! Here is your warning!**

Leaff swallowed and grimaced in pain, "what do you want to know?"

Hotch crossed his arms, "Everything. Start with how you took her."

Leaff glared at Hotch, "That basement where she was at, had a hidden door. Got the idea from one of those nature documentaries about those trap door spiders. They'd hide under a rock or leaf or something and when their prey walked by, they grabbed them. Never had a chance. That building was well known for drug addicts, strippers, prostitutes, homeless, they all squatted there. It was a perfect place. When your girl…"

"Agent Jareau, her name is Agent Jareau." Hotch interrupted

Leaff waved his free hand, "When she came down, I was waiting for someone anyways. There was a tripwire that would alarm to my phone when someone entered the basement and a camera would show who was coming down the stairs. We needed a new person anyway and the timing was perfect; we had no idea she was an FBI agent."

Hotch nodded taking in that for the first time, Leaff had said we. It wasn't just him.

"It wouldn't have made a difference who came down the stairs, man, woman, homeless, we didn't care. It just happened to be that she came down the stairs when we needed someone." Leaff continued.

"What happened to her?" Hotch asked sternly, already he was learning that he and the team had been way off; they had suspected that this had been a targeted attack. Apparently, it wasn't. JJ had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"We decided to grab her; we had everything already prepared. She came down the stairs and I had the sedative ready, it was in a dart gun. As soon as she stepped past the door, I stepped out and fired the dart. It hit her in the neck and she was down instantly. She lost consciousness pretty quickly. She didn't have any time to fight."

"We searched that basement high and low, we found no evidence of you or any door. The dust had only been disturbed by her foot prints."

Leaff scoffed, "Really? That's all fake dust, decoration. We kept a bag of the stuff in the back. Once she was out, I carried her into the back room and dumped her in the van before going back and covering my tracks with the dust. We left before her partner ever began to look for her."

"When she arrived at the hospital, she had life threatening and numerous injuries." Hotch began, "Tell me about those."

Leaff nodded, "I never saw what Spain was cooking, but knew that shit was intense. I know her arm was broken the first week; she tried to fight him off but he slammed her to the ground and her arm got caught underneath her. The rest of her injuries came from various instances; but mostly from the drugs. She fell, a lot. Often had seizures, she lost her vision at one point and she couldn't stand. One time, whatever the drug was, took away her equilibrium and she wasn't able to walk for about a month but she was determined to fight back, and she kept fighting us."

Hotch glared at him, his stomach turning over. "Her spine was fractured."

Leaff nodded, "Right before she ended up at the ER, we noticed she was deteriorating pretty quickly. She wasn't able to eat or drink anymore, Spain became very concerned when he noticed she couldn't control her bladder…"

"From the spinal injury," Reid spoke from the back, "but how did she receive the injury?"

Leaff looked away, "I don't know. I know the drugs he designed and gave her weakened her immune system and really made it seem like her bones broke easily. But I don't have any idea as to what happened to her spine."

Hotch raised an eyebrow "You said she couldn't eat or drink; how long ago was that?"

Leaff shrugged, "Maybe six-seven months ago?"

"Nobody can go that long without water or food…"

Leaff's eyes widened. "Spain has contacts, they made sure she stayed hydrated and fed."

Hotch felt his blood boiling. "How many others?"

Leaff shook his head, "More than you would ever guess, this was not a small-time operation." Leaff scratched his chin. "If we needed any medical issue resolved, someone was able to do it. For example, one day after Spain had injected her with a new formula, he noticed she was having a hard time breathing, begging for water, couldn't stand up. Doc came in and said she needed insulin- wrote Spain an RX for insulin and there we go. She didn't need it long, just for about a week until the drug faded from her system."

Hotch stared, this was worse then he had ever imagined.

"You mentioned various aliments that Agent Jareau was experiencing. Did they resolve before she arrived at the ER?" Reid asked suddenly.

"Hell no; they were force feeding her through a tube before she stopped breathing. She couldn't walk or move really from the waist down. I think her vision came back though."

Hotch took another deep breath. "Doctors found two brandings on her, what were those about?"

Leaff yawned "Initals, it's a C and an S wrapped around one another. He marked them when he injected her with a chemical that caused deadly symtpoms and then again when he had the cure. So, if he injected her and made her sick, then gave the antidote, he marked the skin. I know of at least two; possibly three."

Hotch cracked his knuckles as he listened to this man casually explain what he had put his agent through. "The chip?"

Leaff shook his head, "You won't get anything off of it, it's been wiped clean."

Reid stepped forward, the chip in his hand. "We will see." He knew Garcia was working her magic but even she had been unsure of it.

Leaff groaned, "Its everything that was in her system, everything she experienced and went through." He took a deep breath, "but that one was just placed a few weeks ago, Spain has every other chip we ever used. It has all of her data."

Hotch's eyes flashed, "Whatever detail we pull from this, will be used against you. You'd better damn well hope that it has been wiped and not a speck of evidence is left. When I find out what you did to my agent, you'll wish you would've never been born."

And with that, Hotch stormed out of the room, ready to catch everyone who had been involved with his agent's torture. He had to step out, had to get a breath before hearing anymore about the last year.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Sorry for the delay! PLEASE review, it makes me write faster! Also, VERY creepy chapter. Let me know what you think:**

JJ was aware, she was aware of sounds, voices, people touching her. And she despised it, she didn't want to be touched. Ever. Not by anyone. Touch to her equaled pain and the more people touched her, the more anxiety she felt. Touch was no longer safe to her and it had started the moment she had fully realized what was happening to her. Those men had done awful things to her, to her body, made her sick and weak and praying for death. They had done things she never imagined possible, even as an experienced and talented federal agent.

And it wasn't just touch; everything was now something her traumatized brain related solely to her experience. Everything from breathing, to walking, to the feel of a hospital gown against her skin. Food and water, toilets, cold floors, medical equipment, everything reminded her of her predicament and she had no way to escape it.

She had long ago given up hope of rescue, given up that these men would kill her on purpose. No, if they killed her, it would be on accident. So, she took control over what she could and she thought that was food and water. She could control eating and drinking. At least she thought she could.

 _"_ _Little one, you have to eat," Leaff had sat next to her, trying to cox her into eating anything. "What would you like? I can get you anything. Lobster, hamburger?"_

 _"_ _No." JJ had shaken her head; she was starving, but she knew her stomach couldn't handle anything. Neither could her will. She was done._

 _"_ _You haven't eaten in five days;" His voice remained calm, trying to convince her to eat something. He knew what Clyde was capable of, knew what he was planning._

 _"_ _I'm not hungry, anything I'll eat, I'll throw back up." She didn't fear Leaff, she despised him, but wasn't afraid of him. She knew he was just doing what he was told, it didn't make him less guilty, but she did not fear him as much as she feared Clyde. JJ shivered, she was freezing, she flinched as she felt Leaff drape his coat over here._

 _"_ _What can I do to convince you to eat something?" He had asked, his concern growing over her declining condition._

 _JJ shook her head, "let me go. Let me go home." She whispered._

 _Leaff shook his head, "We cannot do that, you know that."_

 _JJ coughed and groaned in pain; she knew her ribs were broken from the fall she had taken earlier. "You can, you just refuse to."_

 _Leaff reached over and placed a gentle hand on her back, watching as she jumped at his touch. "You know he won't let you starve yourself…" He warned._

 _JJ shook her head. She was done. She had given up. Her body no longer did as she needed it to, she need injections, she needed help going to the restroom, needed oxygen frequently, she couldn't walk and her vision was just starting to return. Everything else was failing. And it wasn't natural. She was being treated as a science experiment, they were using her to test biochemical warfare. And apparently, they had been doing this for years; she just happened to be the healthiest person they had ever tested- she had survived the longest. She was their golden ticket. She just didn't know how much further she could go on._

 _Leaff huffed and stood up, JJ knew what was going to happen and simply looked away as he grabbed her arm and sunk the needle in. The effects were instant and she felt herself turning to the side and dry heaving as the chemical invaded her body. She didn't stop for over an hour and by then, all she could do was curl up and fall asleep as chills wracked her body._

Ross stood in his patient's room, his arm in a sling after he had dislocated his shoulder trying to reach her. Her fever was climbing again, her heartrate was up but her bloodwork looked better. But she was suffering and it was obvious, he just needed her to open her eyes. He needed her to tell her how to fix it. And as the time ticked on, Ross was growing more and more concerned that she would never be able to do so. And he didn't blame her, medically she was improving and he began to wonder if they needed to someone work on the psychological wounds if she ever stood a chance. He had spoken with a psychiatrist and while they had no concrete evidence, they had debated that maybe, just maybe, Jennifer Jareau was in a way, purposefully, distancing herself from the horror of her world. A catatonic form of PTSD; somehow, they had to reassure her she was safe.

And he had no idea how to do that as the person who had hurt her had just found her in a secured hospital room. He swallowed his pride; it was time to speak with Dr. Reid.


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Nice, long chapter for you! PLEASE review!**

Reid sat in a small conference room adjacent from JJ's ICU room; he was pouring over the evidence they had collected, and it wasn't much. It was more then they had had in the last month and for that, Reid was grateful. He was more grateful that JJ had been found alive, barely alive, but alive nonetheless. And he was most grateful that she appeared to be improving. The hospital had consented to involve him in her treatment, and with Will's consent, Reid had stayed attuned to all of her medical case management.

And he was growing more and more concerned. She should have woken up, if she was going to, she should have by now. She had been off all the sedatives for well over five days but was showing very few signs of regaining consciousness; she had squeezed Will's hand but only sporadically and never consistently. He hadn't voiced his concerns to anyone, not yet. He wanted to give it a few more days but deep down, he had started preparing himself mentally for his best friend's funeral.

When he had first learned of JJ's disappearance, he had played it off knowing they would find her, but as they passed the critical point, his hope had gone and logic took over. He knew deep down, JJ was dead. And he maintained that even while they continued to search for her; because he knew when they found her body, that he had been prepared for it. If he allowed himself to hope, then when they found her, he would be devastated. And he was afraid he wouldn't be able to recover from that.

And then they had heard that she had been found and the weight he had been carrying for over a year lifted off of his shoulders. Briefly. Because the moment he saw her bloodwork on that plane, the weight had dropped back down. She was sick, beyond sick. She was gravely ill and it had looked like she had had no chance.

But she had fought and kept fighting.

And Reid's emotions were shot. The roller coaster was unbearable because he knew not only JJ's chances but also what her future may hold. And while the team knew as well, Reid understood it without having to speak with the doctors. He knew JJ would never fully recover from this, he knew the complications she would face moving forward would put a halt to her career. And he knew JJ would never return to the FBI as a field agent.

She was still dependent on the ventilator and while the doctors had tried to decrease the settings, it was immediately clear that she was not able to breathe unassisted. Physical therapy had become involved but JJ became extremely agitated anytime she was touched; and after a brief multidisciplinary meeting, it was decided to forego therapy for now. A handwritten sign had been placed over her bed stating not to touch her if at all possible; the only person who could, was Will. Will who would rarely leave her side, Will, who the staff called on when they had no choice put to touch JJ and Will who did it without hesitation. And while touch still caused agitation, it was nowhere near the levels of when Will was not there.

And while she would squeeze Will's hand, or pull away from touch- Reid had noticed that it was only her upper body. He had not yet seen JJ move anything below her waist and he knew from her admission records that she had a spinal fracture.

He knew that her heart had been damaged and that the cardiologist had started her on medications after clearing it with the FBI to ensure it would not trigger any deadly interactions in JJ's body. Because while the chemical was clearing, it was still there, hanging on. Ever present. And Leaff had warned them that, like a cancer, it would not leave with the exact treatment. And he had refused to give that up without a promise of immunity.

Hotch had refused that. And Leaff had been transferred to the prison. And JJ had been left suffering.

So Reid had sat and poured over the documents, thousands of pages gathered so far. Interviews, medical documents and pictures. Pictures that Reid did not want to see, to look at it, pictures of his friend. Not strong and healthy, not smiling. But tortured, distant, dying.

And Reid didn't know how to help her anymore. All of his expertise and degrees and experiences couldn't save her. He had failed her.

Standing up, Reid stretched and headed towards JJ's room, nodding at the guard at the door before walking in. He stood in the corner and crossed his arms, staring at her. Thinking.

What could they try that they hadn't tried before? She wasn't responding to anything but her neurological exams showed that she did have brain activity- she wasn't brain dead. But that was all he could guarantee.

He looked down at her and looked away when he saw the restraints around her wrists, the trach in her throat, the IV's and catheters. It was just too much and she was dependent on all of it.

Pulling up a seat, Reid sat next to her reaching over and gently recovering her with a blanket. Her body flinched at the merest touch. "I'm sorry JJ," he had whispered.

"Dr. Reid?" Reid jumped when he saw Ross in the room.

"Dr. Ross." Reid nodded in his direction.

"Maria noticed what looks like seizure activity last night, it stopped pretty quickly but we ran an EEG anyways.."

"And?"

Ross shook his head, "Nothing, we saw no seizure activity. But we know we saw what we think was seizure activity, it wasn't captured on the EEG. She hasn't had anymore, but we are monitoring it." Ross licked his lips. "Medically, she is improving. Her condition has been upgraded to critical from grave so we are headed the right direction. We just need her to open her eyes, if only for a second or two…" Reid nodded, he agreed. "Agent, I have a consulted with a psychiatrist on staff and we are contemplating that her condition remains stagnant because of fear."

Reid stopped and looked up at him, it made perfect sense. "Psychosomatic."

"Yes, but a very extreme form of it. The level of trauma here is beyond anything I've ever seen and we are speculating that in order to help her move in the right direction, we need to make her feel…"

"Safe" Reid interrupted. "She doesn't feel safe."

"Exactly"

Reid took a deep breath, they needed to approach this from a completely different angle. A psychological perspective. And suddenly, ideas began going off in his mind like fireworks. "Does she need all the tubes, everything? Is there anything that can go?"

Ross raised his eyebrows and looked at his patient. "I've thought about that, but everything is essential right now."

Reid nodded and began pacing the room; he closed his eyes and let his senses do the work. He put himself in what he presumed JJ would have sensed during her captivity. She was a medical test- medical usually meant tests, scans, smells, noises.

And his eyes shot open, "It's too clinical in here, the smell, she has to be connecting it with what happened to her. The sounds, its all overwhelming her senses." He took a deep breath and came up with a plan to hopefully help his friend begin to feel safe.

"Tell me what to do, we will make it happen." Ross agreed instantly and as Reid explained his plan, the two men began planning the logistics to help make it happen.

JJ was going to feel safe; even in her own hell. They had no choice.


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: A double update tonight! Not sure when the next one will be as I am swamped at work! PLEASE review. I do need to add that this is disturbing; JJ was the subject of a medical experiment.**

 _JJ screamed in pain as she felt arms beneath her, lifting her into his arms. She knew exactly who it was and turned her face into chest, sobbing in pain as he jostled her. She had tried to hold out, desperately tried not to show emotion, or fear, or pain. But this was too much and every movement caused immense pain. She buried her head in his chest as he walked out of her cell and down the hallway; her back arching as another horrific wave of pain shuttered through her body._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, hon." Leaff had said softly, hating seeing her in so much pain "Doc is here; we called him. He'll give you some good meds"_

 _"_ _N… no." JJ shook her head as Leaff carried her into another room and set her down on a soft exam table. Instantly, she tried to sit up, but Leaff pushed her down and held her down with one hand._

 _"_ _He isn't doing anything else today." Leaff tried to reassure her as he took a blanket and wrapped it around her shivering body. "He just wants to see what's causing so much pain; see if he can fix it."_

 _JJ tried to fight but knew it was pointless, she was too weak and her frail body collapsed to the bed. "That's a good girl," Leaff had cooed and ran a gentle hand over her forehead._

 _JJ heard the door swing open and two more familiar voices approaching. She closed her eyes and tried to distance herself from whatever was to come. She had to think of something, anything to get herself mentally away. And as they got closer, JJ told herself she was safe, she was with Will in his arms, he would never let anyone hurt her._

 _And as the two men began prodding her, causing more pain as they moved her aching body, JJ refused to acknowledge them. She knew her team was coming, she just had to hold on, her team was coming to rescue her. Any moment now. And she would be safe in Will's arms._

 _"_ _What did you do to her?" Doc said as he looked over his charge. He didn't need an x-ray to confirm his suspicions._

 _"_ _She fell. Like I told you."_

 _"_ _Off of what? These injuries don't come from a fall, Clyde."_

 _"_ _We let her walk, she was delirious and refused the wheelchair after your last treatment. She got a head of us once we were in the compound and fell down the stairs. She learned her lesson though…"_

 _Doc glared at him. "Yeah, well, force her into the wheelchair from now on, okay?" He turned to Leaff, "Hold her still, I just need to examine her." JJ had gasped in pain as she felt the doctor's hand running over her body, felt him take away her blanket and clothes as his hands pressed painfully on her rib cage. He pressed his stethoscope to her chest and listed to her rapid and hitched breathing. He didn't stop even as she begged him to do so, didn't stop until he was satisfied and then and only then, did he grab the blanket from Leaff and cover her back up with it. "I'll write you a script for her for pain killers; keep an eye on her breathing though. Her ribs are fractured- let me know how she does over the next few days. We will hold off on any further treatment until we know her breathing is stable enough."_

 _"_ _Her breathing?" Leaff had reached over and gently helped JJ sit up, sitting behind and supporting her._

 _Doc raised his eyebrows and stared at him. "You can't hear that? She's wheezing, her lungs are filling with fluid."_

 _"_ _Fuck." Clyde had muttered and glared at JJ._

 _"_ _What?" Leaff had asked, now completely supporting JJ against his body. He could feel the fever burning from her clothes._

 _"_ _Pneumonia, she has pneumonia. Take her back to the compound and I can treat her there. I have the supplies. She'll need to stay there for a few days at least until I can get it under control." He paused briefly. "Has she started eating yet?" He eyed JJ, her eyes were closed as she leaned against Leaff._

 _"_ _No." Leaff shook his head. "Stopped drinking also."_

 _Doc nodded and looked to Clyde. "We can't wait anymore. We can correct this, but we have to act now. I'll see you at the compound." He had turned and left, leaving Clyde with Leaff and JJ._

 _"_ _You don't have the antidote for this?" Leaff hissed as he once again lifted JJ into his arms._

 _"_ _Pneumonia? Hell no I don't! I haven't given her anything in a few days; this is all her." He had stormed out after that, leaving JJ with Leaff._

 _"_ _C'mon kiddo, let's go get you some help."_

 _And JJ smiled; she thought he meant it. They were finally letting her go home._

It had taken a few hours to get everything set and approved, but once it had been approved, the team went to work. The clinical smells were covered with natural ones, lavender and peppermint; her bed was moved closer to the window to allow natural light in, Garcia had purchased a soundtrack of natural sounds to play in the room, and the staff had consented to allow her to be changed out of hospital gown and into her own pajamas. The plastic touch of the IV's and tubing's was still present however and they could not cover the constant beeping of the machines.

It was Garcia who had come up with the idea of having each member of the team, Will and sweet Henry, record their voices saying something, a message, a book passage, something that JJ would recognize as them. Once that was done, Garcia had converted it to an audio file and had found earphones that would work for JJ. The audio file played on repeat for hours and only stopped at night or when the staff needed to touch her for some reason. The last thing they wanted was for her traumatized brain to connect hearing safe voices with pain and touch. It was methodical, every touch, every movement, test, everything that was not an emergency was planned.

And it was showing promise. JJ began moving more, squeezing hands when asked and doing so consistently. She squeezed Will's hand and when he started speaking, would reach for it. Her blood pressure had dropped to a normal level, her fevers gone, requiring less support on the ventilator.

Will stared down at his wife as Hotch entered the room.

"Will." Hotch walked over. "How is she?"

Will nodded, "She's improving. Thanks for coming by. I hate leaving her but.."

"Henry needs you too, it'll only be a few days and we are here. I won't leave her Will."

"If anything happens.."

Hotch nodded. "Of course, take the weekend Will. She's safe with us."

Will paused, hating that he was leaving his wife. But his son had called crying and wanting him to come home and 'not leave him like mommy did' and Will had had no choice. He had debated on bringing Henry to see JJ but decided against it. He didn't want to traumatize his son. Sighing he bent down and kissed JJ on the forehead as he gently grasped her hand. "JJ, I need to go check on Henry. I'm a phone call away and will be back in two days; Hotch is here. You aren't alone." He took in a deep breath and kissed her one more time before whispering, "You're safe JJ, you're safe."

He didn't say another word as he left the room, leaving Hotch with JJ.

It was hours later, Hotch had been pouring over JJ's casefile when he noticed movement, jerking in her shoulders. "JJ?" He stood up as the shaking continued. "JJ, it's okay," He briefly thought about it before reaching down and gently grabbing her hand as he spoke to her, hitting the call button. "JJ, it's Hotch. You're safe. I'm here." He told her as the tremors continued.

JJ was aware, she was aware of a pleasant smell, of a kind voice and a gentle touch. Of conversation and it reminded her of something, of someone. It reminded her of home, the smells, the gentle touch, the conversation. And she heard Will's voice and desperately clung to it, and then it disappeared.

Her body began to shake, she wanted it back, wanted his voice back. It had felt so real and then she heard another voice. One she could identify. Hotch. Had they found her? And then he said she was safe.

And hoping against hope, JJ took a chance and slowly, carefully opened her eyes.


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: I am headed to Orlando this week! I will try and update before I leave but no promises! Please let me know what you think!**

Garcia sat in the make shift headquarters, staring at her computer screen; at the data pouring from the chip that had been recovered from one of her best friends. The thought alone made her sick, a chip had been forcefully implanted in JJ for data collection. And they thought it had been wiped clean of any information. And it had been. Until Garcia got ahold of it.

It had taken every ounce of her skill, every ounce of her strength to fight against the queasy feeling constantly lurking in her stomach. She had called in favors, pulled strings, stayed up hours on end, desperate to recover any information from the chip.

And for the briefest of moments, she had nearly given up. In tears, she wasn't sure she could do it; she had worked miracles before, but this seemed beyond her capabilities. And it was Morgan who had suggested she take a few hours break. She had fought but Morgan had kicked her out of her own temporary office and locked the door. Not even Rossi would agree to kick down the door for her.

She was sure her team had ganged up on her, because as soon as Morgan had kicked her out, Hotch had called and asked Garcia to come and sit with JJ for a few hours. And without hesitation, without question, Garcia had agreed.

And she sat with JJ for hours, reading, talking about their favorite normal topics, about Henry and the team and how much they had missed her. And Garcia found herself taking in her friend's horrific injuries, the fact that she was dependent on life support and her motivation came flying back.

"I'll get 'em Jay. We will get 'em. You don't worry about that. We will make them pay for ever laying their hands on you. You just focus on opening those eyes."

She had gone back to her office after that, JJ's image engraved in her mind. And she worked tirelessly for the next three days. Determined to help her friend.

And finally. Finally. She started to have answers. The chip had information. And as the data began filling her screen, Garcia's eyes filled with tears- for the horror of what had been done to her friend and for the relief that maybe- just maybe, she had finally kept her promise and helped JJ.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hotch stood in the corner of the ICU room, ready to intervene if necessary. Since the moment JJ had opened her eyes, the room had erupted into a controlled chaos. One of the responding doctors had tried to force Hotch out of the room, but Maria and the rest of the nurses quickly shut the doctor down. And Hotch had nodded his appreciation.

"Agent, you are welcome to stay, but we're going to need you to stay over there." Maria had said urgently as she moved closer to JJ.

Maria was in the charge nurse and had developed a heart for the injured federal agent that remained under her care. The hospital had decided early on to try and keep as few people involved in her case as possible, so whenever Maria was on shift, she knew JJ would be her patient. And over the last few weeks, she had grown close to the woman. She had remained professional and distant, knowing full well that JJ could pass at any moment; that she was still so ill that anything could happen. But as the shifts passed and JJ continued to surprise them, Maria slowly let her defense down and replaced it with closely guarding this patient.

And today, it had all changed.

She had just sat down at the start of her shift, when alarms began sounding from JJ's room. Her heart rate was skyrocking and Maria knew something was wrong. She yelled for Ross to be paged before she and another nurse rushed into the room.

The sight took her breath away for the briefest of seconds. She had been a nurse for well over ten years, been in the trauma unit for five of those; sick people didn't scare her.

But the scene in front of her did.

Agent Hotchner was bending down over the bed, his hand on JJ's forehead, reassuring her that she was safe as she fought against the restraints. Her eyes were wide open, the first time Maria had ever seen them open.

"JJ." Maria rushed over and gestured Hotch aside, trying to help her patient calm down. "Shh, JJ, it's okay, you are safe." She whispered, hoping her voice was calming. The alarms were blaring and more people were rushing into the room. The sensory overload was driving her own mind insane, she couldn't imagine how scary it was for her patient. Taking a quick glance at the monitors, Maria quickly silenced them before asking only essential persons to stay in the room.

A minute later, the monitors had been silenced, and she, another nurse and the floor doctor were in the room, along with Hotch. People were speaking in whispers and Maria noticed that JJ's heartrate was slowing down.

"There ya go, honey. It's alright, it's okay." She cooed. Normally, she would touch a patient to help reassure them that they were safe, but she knew it wouldn't help JJ in the least. Instead, she resorted to using her soft voice. "Agent, it's okay, you are safe." She whispered, motioning Hotch to join her. "Agent, my name is Maria. You are in the hospital." She continued, watching as her patient's eyes shifted back and forth out of focus. "Agent Hotchner is here, he is right here."

She nodded and Hotch stepped forward. "JJ, it's okay." Hotch had urged, reaching forward to grab her hand but recoiling almost instantly. Her head turned towards his voice and Hotch smiled, "We have you JJ, you are safe." He said softly, watching as JJ's hands kept trying to lift up off the gurney. The restraints forbidding that.

Maria watched as slowly, with Agent Hotchner's voice present, her patient began to calm. Her hands loosened the death grip they had on the sheets and slowly, her eyes slid into focus.

"Hi there," Maria repeated softly, grabbing her stethoscope off her neck. Instantly, JJ began struggling again, fighting again, her heartrate skyrocketed again. "Okay, okay…" Maria dropped the device and put her hands up, ripping off the gloves to show the woman she had nothing. "Okay, we won't do that." She promised, her heart breaking at the sheer trauma the woman had to have experienced.

"JJ, I won't let them hurt you, I promise." Hotch said, standing closer to her, looking up as Ross walked in.

They waited, Hotch staying in front of JJ so that she could see her and soon, her body began to relax again. Her eyes began to shut.

"Not yet, sweetie. Not yet." Maria urged, needing her to stay awake a bit longer. "Can you show Hotch your eyes?" She whispered, hoping Ross would be able to do a quick neuro exam while JJ's eyes were open.

JJ forced her eyes open, trying to find Hotch. "Thank you, JJ." He said softly, keeping his focus on her as Ross moved closer. "JJ, Dr. Ross just needs to look you over, okay?" He explained. She stared at him, trusting him to keep her safe.

Ross stepped in front of JJ's vision and carefully, gently, reached over to her. She flinched instantly and pulled away; "Ma'am, I won't hurt you, I promise." Ross explained as he held his penlight up. "I just need to check really…"

JJ began shaking her head, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to turn away from Ross. She was terrified and everyone in the room saw it. Hotch bit his lip and spoke softly to Ross. "I don't think she realizes she is safe yet…"

Ross nodded in agreement. He desperately needed to examine his patient but it was painfully clear that she was petrified of him, of Maria. "Agent Jareau, Agent Hotchner will be right here with me the entire time." He tried and bent down in front of her. "This is a penlight," he turned it on and off on his skin, showing the light bouncing on his skin. "It won't touch you, I won't touch you, okay? Its just a light I can shine in your eyes." He watched the monitors and saw that while her heartrate remained high, it wasn't increasing anymore. "Tell you what, let me just do this really quick and I will let you go back to sleep. I know you must be tired." He didn't wait long and reached gently over with his thumb and shined the light into her eyes as quickly as he could. She pulled away only briefly. "Okay, go back to sleep." He smiled at her and pulled the blanket around her, watching as her eyes closed immediately.

She was awake, she had turned the corner. But a weight had sunk into Ross' stomach. Despite her being safe, the medical equipment she desperately needed was everything that was keeping her stuck in her trauma. And there was nothing they could do about it.


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: YAY for two updates! I am really walking a fine line here do I let it go to a very creepy level (not on the sexual side) with this story and the bad guys, or retreat a bit? Its hard to know but I want to hear from you guys! Do we want full on X-Files type stuff (minus the aliens) or back it off to PG rated? PLEASE let me know and review!**

Reid sat next to Garcia as Morgan and Emily read over his shoulder. The amount of information coming off the chip was astronomical. Astronomical and heartbreaking.

"Reid, what are we looking at?" Morgan asked softly; as he grabbed a page from the printer.

Reid didn't answer; his entire focus was on the screen and the information coming at him. He began mumbling to himself as more and more information was discovered from the chip and uploaded to the screen. He brought his hands up to his mouth as he began connecting the dots. And he remained silent.

For twenty minutes, he didn't speak. He read the information, mumbled to himself, drew on scratch paper and calculated everything he could before he was able to start somewhere.

"The information contained on that chip all relates to JJ." He started as his team looked on. "It shows what happened to her, what was given to her and how her body reacted to it. It shows the chemical compound and correlates it to her reaction." He paused and saw the confused looks on their faces. "Look." He grabbed one of the print outs and pointed to a long number, "On December 8 of last year at 2:23PM she was given some kind of chemical; the information shows that within five minutes her body began reacting to it. It looks like her blood sugar dropped dangerously low because a few minutes later, her system was flooded with glucagon." He explained as he ran his fingers along the line.

"How often did this happen?" Emily asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

Reid shook his head. "On this day alone, it looks like she was given at least seven different chemicals; her body reacted differently to each one." His voice hitched as he continued to read more information. "It also looks like she was given one more right before midnight; it corrected most of what was going on in her body, but not all of it."

The team was silent, they didn't know what to say. What was there to say? "Clyde has no medical experience or training does he?" Emily asked.

Morgan shook his head, "not that we have discovered. Leaff didn't mention it, but Hotch and I are going back today to meet with him. Why?"

Emily looked to Reid, "Were they just injecting her with this stuff?"

Reid bit his lip. "No, it looks like it was intravenous. At least most of it." He kept reading the data as it continued to upload. "We need to see…" He stopped, taking another breath. "I need to see if she has a scar over her heart."

Morgan and Emily looked at one another, confused. "Reid…." They knew it wouldn't happen, Hotch had called them as soon as he could after JJ had woken up. Apparently, now that JJ was aware, it was making the staff's job more difficult. JJ was too traumatized, so much so that she wouldn't allow the staff to touch her. The slightest jarring would wake her in a panic and the staff had yet to figure out how to calm her enough to allow them access to her.

"Clyde couldn't have done this. He doesn't have the skills. The medication that is appearing that was in her bloodstream is not something easily accessible. You have to have a medical license to get this stuff."

"Leaff said that Clyde was resourceful, had access to almost anything." Emily replied, confused as to what Reid was getting at.

"She was sedated at several points; given anesthesia. She would have had to have been intubated."

"Reid, what are you looking for on her chest?" Morgan leaned against the table and crossed his arms.

"When I saw JJ early on, I noticed that she had numerous bruises on her arms and feet. Where her veins are easily accessible for IVs. The staff at the hospital had to place one in her neck because they couldn't get access anywhere else." He paused again, his mind racing. "If, whoever had JJ was out of options and still doing this, they had to go another way. And only a medical professional could do it; and I think it happened around this date." He grabbed another piece of paper and began studying the readings. "All of the sudden, she has anesthesia, is intubated and is flooded with antibiotics. Then everything stops for a few days before picking back up. But now its more than just a few times a day; its almost at all hours, even at night…"

"What do you need?" Morgan stood up, dialing Hotch's number.

"I need to know who gave her the central line. We need to know if she had one first; if she did. We have another unsub."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hotch sat by JJ as he listened to Morgan explain what Reid had just discovered. He felt his anger increase again as Morgan informed him that they were heading to the hospital. He hadn't noticed the increase of the volume in his voice until he saw JJ staring at him. Panic in her eyes.

"JJ, it's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." He said softly, wanting to reach out and take her hand. She recoiled even as he shifted positions in his chair. "Will is on his way, his plane had maintenance issues but he is on his way." Hotch explained.

She had woken up the night before and had been in and out of sleep ever since. The staff had warned him not to expect her to be awake most of the time, but at the point, he would take anything. Every second with her eyes open.

He desperately wanted to ask her what had happened, wanted the interview so he could catch the people responsible for this. Wanted to catch them and promise JJ she was safe. But Ross had warned him not to attempt it, not yet.

But Hotch's concern was growing. Something was wrong with his agent; besides the obvious. He knew she was traumatized but this was different. She hadn't tried to engage him or anyone else, hadn't voluntarily tried to communicate- she just shrunk away from anything. Sound, touch, the slightest movement sent her into a panic.

It was almost as if she couldn't see them. But that couldn't be true- she had tracked them with her eyes, at least earlier on. And then a horrific thought entered his mind- was JJ able to see them? Yes, she was tracking them, but she could have been just hearing sound. He had to know.

"JJ?" He stood up and watched her eyes, she didn't follow him. His heart sunk and he moved further away. "JJ, do you see the blanket Will brought you?" He asked, hoping she would look down. While she didn't look down, he watched as her fingers grasped the soft blanket. He would have to bring it up with Ross.

He stepped out of the room briefly and asked Maria to page Ross before stepping back into the room; he didn't want to leave JJ for longer then he needed.

"Agent? Dr. Ross is in surgery," Maria stepped in. "He wanted me to ask if this was urgent?"

Hotch looked at her and back at JJ. "Agent Reid wanted to know if anyone had seen an incision or scar over her heart."

Maria looked at him, confused. "To be honest agent, when she came in she was covered in bruises and scars. I am not sure we have had the chance to see." She glanced at JJ. "I can try and look but she…"

Hotch nodded but they needed to try. "Let's try."

Maria smiled and put her stethoscope down before walking over to JJ; every step very deliberate as she approached carefully. "JJ," she spoke softly. "Can I check your wounds honey? I promise, I won't hurt you. I just want to make sure they are healing." She waited patiently and warmed her hands so that the cold wouldn't surprise her. "I'll take less than ten seconds." She didn't wait for a response but slowly reached over and waited for the expected flinch. It didn't come; carefully, she pulled the gown down and as JJ felt the cloth being peeled away from her body, she began to shake. Her eyes widened and she looked at Hotch pleading for him to make it stop.

"It's okay, JJ. I won't let her hurt you. I promise." Hotch said softly as he saw her hands begin to pull on the restraints. And then, Maria let the gown go and it covered JJ back up; slowly the shaking stopped.

"They are healing sweetheart." Maria smiled down at her. "Agent." She looked at him and nodded. "There is a relatively new scar there."

And his blood broiled.


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: DISTURBING scene here. Gives more of a clue as to what JJ was experiencing. You DO NOT have to read this chapter to understand the rest of the story; however, the scene is not graphic or detailed but does imply what happened.**

 **Also- we are going full creep factor for the rest of the story.**

 _Clyde watched, a grin spreading across his face, as his most recent project was dragged into the room. Two guards at her side as he continued to try and fight them off. He had to give it to her, six months in and she was still fighting. As much as he had tried to fight it off, he found himself oddly attracted to the blonde; she was intelligent, stubborn and gorgeous. And she had beaten the hell out of one of his guards to the point that the guard and refused to return to work any shift where he would be near this woman._

 _He watched silently as she was secured to the seat, her wrists and ankles bound to the chair. He didn't approach until he knew she was indeed secure, she had broken his nose once already._

 _"_ _Did you have a nice trip?" He asked her directly, as he used his feet to propel the stool he was sitting on closer to her. "I know we took a few days off, haven't seen you in a week." He reached over and attached the oxygen saturation device to her finger as another guard wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her thin arm. Clyde watched as the numbers came back and smiled at her, "Leaff told me you'd been sick with something but it looks as if you are feeling better." He reached to press the back of his hand to her forehead, but she jerked away almost immediately._

 _"_ _Stay away…" She paused to catch her breath "from me."_

 _"_ _Ah, there's the feisty girl I know." He grinned back and patted her on the arm before grabbing a tourniquet off the wall and a needle. "You know the drill; but also, doc needs to see you today."_

 _JJ froze, "What?" She looked him straight in the eye. "No." It had only been two weeks; she shouldn't have to see him for another few days… that was how it worked._

 _Clyde reached over and grabbed her arm, typing the tourniquet around it. "Yes, he said he needs to do a quick procedure." He bent down and stuck the needle in her vein, watching as the blood began pouring into the small tube. "Are you going to be a good girl this time and listen or do you need help?"_

 _"_ _Its only been two weeks.." JJ whispered, trying to pull away from Clyde's grasp but only backing further into one of the guards. She hated Doc, hated what he did to her, made her do, how he touched her._

 _Clyde smiled and withdrew the small needle before pressing a cotton ball to her vein. "It's been sixteen days kid. You were unconsciousness for two days, but don't worry, he came and checked on you then."_

 _JJ shivered involuntarily as she felt the guards loosen the restraints and force her to her feet. Pushing her towards one of exam rooms. She felt her panic begin to rise as she was forced inside, felt her heartrate begin to skyrocket._

 _"_ _Take off your clothes sweetheart and just go sit on the table." Clyde instructed, knowing full well she wouldn't do it. He wasted no time and motioned for the guards to do it for her. He only smiled as she struggled against them, still not comfortable with anyone seeing her nude._

 _"_ _Shh, its okay. Nothing to be embarrassed about." Clyde said softly as the door swung open again and Doc walked in._

 _He didn't say anything as he approached JJ, simply waited until the guards had her secured and unable to move before he began examining her. "Are you feeling better little one?" He asked, grabbing her wrist painfully. JJ refused to answer, refused to look at him as his hands became more intrusive._

 _She jumped when she felt his hands slide down her inner thighs and turned her head sideways, "Don't." she begged, knowing what was coming._

 _"_ _I have to honey," He replied getting his satisfaction knowing she was powerless to stop him. "Everyone clear the room," He ordered before he took his own clothes off and used his full advantage._

Hotch was standing guard in JJ's room when he noticed her eyes open suddenly and in that moment, he knew what he saw. Fear. That was all that was there. Fear.

"JJ." He moved to get in her line of sight, hoping she could see him.

And then. she made direct eye contact with him, for the first time she made eye contact with him. And Hotch knew she was scared.

"What is it JJ?" He whispered sitting beside her.

Tears rolled down her cheek and Hotch reached up to wipe them away, wishing Will was here. "What's wrong?" He asked again, not knowing how to help. And he watched as she tried to speak, watch as her words formed the word "Help."

And he couldn't.


	31. Chapter 31

**AN: Hey there, I wanted to address something I keep getting a lot of PMs about. I know I have a TON of unfinnsiehd stories**

 **here is my promise to you. As long as you keep reviewing, I will finish them. It's my next project after this. I will get them done. But let me complete this series first (hint hint**

Hotch, Morgan and Reid stood inside the small prison cell; all ready to get this over with. They had a plan as how to interrogate this bastard and they had no plans of letting him out of the cell until he gave them every bit of information they knew he had.

And as much as all three men wanted to throttle this bastard into non-existence, they had done everything by the book. Every move calculated to avoid him getting off on any kind of technicality. Leaff was never leaving prison, he would be lucky to have any chance at bail by the time he was in his late 100's.

"How's JJ?" Morgan asked, breaking the long standing silence.

"Calmer now, Will arrived a few hours ago. I think it helped her; she was able to fall asleep with him there. He won't leave her side now." Hotch explained. "Her injuries are healing and Ross wants to start physical therapy…" he purposefully trailed off. They all knew that was not going to go well. "I know, we know. We are hoping that with Will by her side, she will be more open to touch."

"What are they planning once they move her out of ICU?" Morgan asked, leaning against the table.

Reid shook his head, "They probably aren't thinking that yet." Hotch raised his eyebrows and gave Reid a quizzical but silent look. "She'll be in the ICU for the foreseeable future; she still cannot breathe on her own and Ross doesn't know if she…" he trailed off and looked away.

"What Reid?" Hotch pushed.

"Ross isn't sure she will ever be able to without mechanical aide. Her throat was damaged as were her lungs and heart. The machine is doing the majority of the work for her in regards to breathing." He paused again and looked up at Morgan and Hotch. "They've observed no movement below her waist, and they've noticed that when they touch JJ below her waist, she doesn't react. She doesn't feel it."

"Can they.. can she regain that?" Morgan asked, shifting his spot on the table.

Reid shrugged. "We don't know what caused the injury or how long she has been this way. If JJ could tell us…"

"No." Hotch interrupted. "Its not the time or place for that; we get everything we can from Leaff. If we have to interview JJ, it'll wait. We can possibly at a later time but not now." He knew they desperately needed whatever JJ could provide them; but he had seen what the others had not. He knew JJ still thought she was with whoever had done this and no matter what he said, or Will said, she couldn't snap out of it. She would at brief intervals but would quickly flashback to her own personal hell. They couldn't sedate her to make it easier, couldn't remove any medical devices, couldn't reduce any medications; they were powerless. All they could do was talk to her and hope she was aware enough to understand. And it was continually hit or miss- they just never knew. And they had yet to discover something to help her. And Hotch wondered if it would have been better for JJ to still be unconsciousness until her body had healed just a bit more. A lot more. Because she was living in hell. She had escaped hell, only to be forced back into it.

Their conversation was interrupted as the guard announced that they were bringing Leaff in; all three men nodded and quickly focused their attention to him; to their anger for what he had done to their friend. They remained silent as Leaff, was shuffled in, his hands and ankles in chains. Nobody said a word as the guards secured him to table and left the room.

"Was all this necessary?" Leaff raised his hands to show the chains. "I am not a violent person."

"You abducted my agent and tortured her for over a year;" Hotch hissed. "She was comatose for God knows how long, subjected to horrific experiments and you tell us you are not violent? Then what are you?"

Leaff shifted in his chair and looked away. "I took care of her…"

If Hotch had not had his hand on Morgan's arm, Reid was sure his boss would have pummeled the man on the spot. "Took care of her?"

Leaff nodded, "Yes, I took care of her. Made sure she was getting dry clothes and clean blankets; made sure her wounds were taken care of so they didn't get infected. Got her anything she wanted…"

"I am sure she wanted to be free." Morgan replied. "I am sure she wanted you to stop hurting her."

Leaff shook his head. "I was not allowed to that. My assignment was to make sure she stayed somewhat comfortable and to be essentially her personal assistant when her health started to deteriorate"

Hotch, Morgan and Reid all stared at him in utter disbelief. "What did you do to her?" Hotch asked, barely holding on to his patience.

"Ask her, she'll tell you!" Leaff shot back, growing agitated at the treatment.

Hotch moved in and narrowed his eyes before speaking softly, "I can't ask her right now because she is unable to respond. Because she is unable to breathe on her own; so I have to talk to you. And you will not leave this cell until I hear every damn detail about what you did to her. And then and only then will you be able to pray that you don't go to jury trial because you won't stand a chance. I will bring everything forward I can, I will be dammed if you ever get to see the sunshine again. And if my agent dies; you will only hope I get to you before her husband does."

Leaff swallowed, "I told you everything a few days back, you threatened me there too, remember?"

Hotch shook his head. "You didn't tell us anything. We found the camera, we found the chip, we know she had anesthesia multiple times." Hotch didn't blink. "And we know that whatever you gave her isn't leaving her system."

"Its embedded in her DNA, smartass." Leaff shouted at him. "They fucked her up. That shit is with her until she dies." He glared at the agents, "and you don't know half of what they did to her. You have no idea how to save her life."

Reid stepped forward. "Explain that."

Leaff looked him up and down. "You think I was just shooting her up everyday for the hell of it? Did it ever occur to you that what I was giving her was keeping her alive?" Leaff laughed at the look on their faces. "Yeah. That's what I thought. The only way she is going to survive is to keep giving her those shots; I am going to guess that right now, she probably looks like she is improving, slowly but doing so." Hotch said nothing. "And she will continue to do so for another few days, maybe a week. But she needs that shot, it's the antidote essentially."

"What is it?" Reid asked.

"Hell if I know, Clyde devised it. It's something that binds to the chemical and restricts it from spreading." His smile broadened. "Looks like I've turned the tables on the FBI; you want your agent to live, you drop the charges."

Hotch glared at him. "Why should we believe a word you say about that?"

Leaff leaned back in his chair and shrugged, "because if you don't- your girl dies a painful death. It'll be slow and there will be absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. The chemical is a hostage situation essentially. You want her to live, you have to pay for the antidote and chemical makeup. And she'll be dependent on it the rest of her life. And it morphs; we know the steps, we know what she needs and when and we know what antidote she will need next. You stop paying, you stop getting the evolving cure. Time's ticking." He smiled again. "Check mate Agent Hotcher."


	32. Chapter 32

**AN: Double update! VERY VERY creepy and we are starting to hear more and more about what happened to JJ. This is NOT a short story, there are several chapters to come. And the creep factor will escalate significantly. ALSO, if ANYONE can and WILL make a fanmade video of this story, I will give you 1) first glance at upcoming chapters and 2) the choice of which story I should complete first after this one! Ummm, I LOVE when you review, it makes me smile! More reviews = faster updates!**

Hotch walked into the ICU, his mind spinning. He, Morgan and Reid had sat with Leaff for fourteen hours; and he had talked. He had talked in circles and while he had given some information; they were no closer to finding Clyde then they had been before.

They had spent hours with him, focusing on his threat, trying to determine its validity. And it terrified him that there could be some truth to it. Morgan thought Leaff was using this as a power play, Reid didn't know which way to lean. And Hotch desperately wanted to believe it was just a threat. He hoped it was a threat.

Because JJ was improving. Just like Leaff had said. And he couldn't have known that any other way.

Hotch stopped outside of JJ's room and stood in the doorway, watching. He couldn't help but smile as he saw Will, with his hand gently on JJ's cheek, talking to her. He was smiling and while Hotch couldn't make out what he was saying, he could tell it was keeping JJ calm. It looked like she was awake and reacting to Will.

"She's doing well," a soft voice startled Hotch and he turned to see Maria standing next to him. "Sorry agent, I didn't mean to scare you. She's been awake for fifteen minutes,"

"That's great to hear," Hotch replied, knowing that the longest JJ had been able to stay awake had been five minutes at the most.

"It looks like she has turned a corner, her vitals are stable, she is requiring less and less assistance from the ventilator. She has some color in her cheeks and she let me wash her hair earlier." Maria was glowing; bragging about JJ as if she were her child. "We are so proud of her!"

And while Hotch smiled, his stomach turned into knots. His anxiety began to creep upwards. What if Leaff was telling them the truth? What if JJ was improving, only to become sick again? He shook his head, right now, he had to focus on finding Clyde.

"JJ." Hotch looked towards Will and saw the man looking back and forth between JJ and Hotch. "Hotch is here, can he come and see you?" Hotch watched as JJ's head moved slowly in a nod and he stepped forward. He reached for Will's hand and shook it before sitting down next to him, moving towards JJs eye line.

"Hi JJ," Hotch whispered, still not reaching out to touch her, mindful of her trauma. She returned his greeting with a smile.

"Ross said she probably doesn't have the strength to form words yet, but she'll get there. Won't you JJ?" She smiled back at him before looking towards Hotch.

"What is it JJ?" Hotch asked softly, knowing his agent was trying to communicate with him. He watched as it took her a while to process what he was saying, saw her working to understand. Slowly, she lifted her left hand and brought it over to his hand, placing it down ontop of his hand. He watched as her eyes began to flutter shut and he gently placed his hand ontop of hers. She didn't flinch. She didn't jump. She just fell asleep.

For a few minutes, neither Will nor Hotch said anything; both just watching her sleep.

"Morgan is right outside, how about some coffee?" Hotch invited, he wanted to ask Will if JJ had given him any indication of what had happened. And while he doubted it, he still wanted to check.

Will had nodded to stand up when Ross knocked and entered the room. "Hey, can we chat in the family room?" Will looked at him and followed him out, motioning for Hotch to follow.

The three men walked into a private room and sat down with Ross. "I need to take JJ for a few scans; it'll take about an hour." Will looked at him wondering why they needed to speak privately for this but Hotch picked up on the hesitation immediately in Ross' voice.

"What is it?" Hotch asked, crossing his arms.

Ross looked down before speaking. "Maria noticed, when she was giving JJ a bath, a small scar on her abdomen. We just noticed it because the bruises have finally faded enough. The scar is fairly recent, I want to say within the few months. So she would have been with them…"

"It's a scar. We know they tortured her." Will interrupted, knowing that taking JJ for any medical procedures would be detrimental to JJs mental health.

Ross shook his head, "no, this is a surgical scar. It matches the other ones we have found where evidence of medical procedures have been done. Where we saw the chip and where the port was placed above her heart."

Hotch swallowed knowing where this might be headed. "You've got to be kidding me." He stood up and backed into the wall.

"I cannot confirm it yet, Agent. We do need to check though, we have reason to believe that she was subjected to a forced hysterectomy. The timing matches up with the anesthesia doses she had as well as the antibiotics that were given."

"Do we have to subject her to the scans? You can't sedate her- she won't do well."

"Our other choice is to ask her…"

 _Hotch shook his head as the recent conversation with Leaff came back to him:_

 _"_ _We had to do a few procedures to save her life; unexpected internal bleeding at one point. Poor thing has no clue what happened and I still don't think she does. She was in pain for a few weeks but we kept her pretty drugged. She had to stay in bed for at least a week; Clyde had to restrain her to keep her from hurting herself or pulling a stich."_

 _"_ _What did you do to her?" Hotch had asked._

 _Leaff shook his head. "I'll leave that to you agents. You'll find out soon enough, or if she lives, she'll figure it out." He laughed and shook his head, "she'll save money on birth control though."_

 _And Morgan had lunged at him; caught only by Hotch and forced out of the room._

Hotch took a deep breath before addressing both Will and Ross. "During our interview with Leaff, he hinted that that had happened. He said it was a result of unexpected internal bleeding."

There was silence before Will glared at Hotch. "I want him." He turned and stormed out of the room, heading back to JJ.

"Ross; he also warned us that JJ will deteriorate. That her condition will improve and then crash. We have no reason to believe that this is true but everything he has told us so far has happened." His heart was racing. "I need you to keep us updated if her condition changes in the least."

Ross nodded, "of course. But…"

Hotch shook his head, not wanting to go there yet. "I can't say anything yet, but if you notice anything…"

Ross stared at him and chewed his lip for a brief moment. "She is improving agent. Lets just hope this is God acting and now the devil."

Hotch said nothing as his phone rang; he didn't look at the caller ID before answering. "Hotch."

Rossi's voice came back over the phone. "Who is with JJ?"

Instantly, Hotch rushed out of the room and saw Morgan and Will with her. "Will and Morgan."

"You need to get down to Leaff's bunker…"

Hotch didn't hesitate before he began walking out of the ICU. "What happened?"

"We found Clyde. He's dead."


	33. Chapter 33

**AN: Thanks sooo much for the reviews. I do love them!**

Emily stood with Rossi, staring down at their number one suspect. Their lead that was now, very clearly, dead. And it didn't look like his killer had taken any mercy on him.

"Little bit of anger…" Emily said, looking at the beaten body below her. The man had been bloodied, his arms and legs twisted at odd angles. He had been tortured. And they didn't feel a hint of sympathy for him.

Instead, they felt loss. Not the loss of the filthy maggot on the dirt floor, not his life; his information. He was their key to helping JJ. And now he was gone and looked as though he had been for a few days.

Nobody had touched him, save for the responding paramedics who had no trouble in declaring him dead. Now, Emily and Rossi were standing guard over him, waiting for Hotch and Reid to arrive. They had also called in a haz-mat team out of an abundance of caution. SWAT had cleared the scene making sure that there had been no traps left.

They didn't have to wait long for Reid and Hotch to show up, lights and sirens signaling they had driven as fast as they could, covering the twenty mile distance in record time. The SUV had barely been shifted into park before both agents were out and heading towards Emily and Rossi.

"What happened?" Hotch asked, looking down at the body.

"Police officer swung by to do a check, as if we had asked them to do periodically, was intelligent enough to check behind the barn and found him like this." Rossi pointed to the remains. "He was able to identify him immediately as Clyde; said he worked with the guy on occasion."

Hotch nodded as he glanced over the body. "Anyone find anything else around the property?"

"PD is searching right now, so far, nothing." Emily explained. "Crime scene got all their evidence, we are free to move him if we want. But," she reached behind her in a bag and pulled out gloves and masks handing them to her coworkers. "We know what he did to JJ; who knows if he has anything on him."

Everyone took a set before leaning down near Clyde's body. It was Emily who carefully reached into his pockets, "Hotch, got something." Gently, she pulled out what looked like an old film canister; she opened it up only to close her eyes. "Its two more chips…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Garcia stood in disbelief as the team cornered her in the small, make shift office that had become her fortress. She had finally retrieved all of the information off that damn chip and while she refused to look at it; it still caused her tears to think about what had been done to her friend. And then the team had showed up, two more chips in hand.

"No." Garcia shook her head. "That sweet girl; what else could they have done to her?" She shook with tears as Emily wrapped her arms around her in a supportive hug.

Hotch said nothing as Emily comforted the tech; he lowered his gaze as he saw the mammoth amount of information Garcia had collected off the first chip. His stomach flipped as he considered what else they could discover on these chips.

"It doesn't make sense;" Rossi spoke up. "We didn't know about the first chip until Leaff had tried to cut it out of her, they wanted it kept secret. For us to stumble upon Clyde's body and for the chips to be so easily accessible isn't adding up."

Hotch nodded in agreement; whatever was on the chip was meant to be found. "Garcia, how fast can you get that information?"

Garcia bit her lip and turned around. "I.. I need to see if its been coded, or erased or is easily accessible." She reached over and took the chips from Emily, picking one first and beginning her work. She didn't have to wait.

"Boss." Garcia gasped as the chip began uploading thousands of pictures, videos, letters.

"What's on the second one?" Hotch remained calm as horrific pictures began flashing across the screen. He would deal with that later.

Garcia nodded and grabbed the second chip, uploading it into another system. Instantly, Hotch turned his ehad away as Emily leaned against a chair for support.

A man in mask was holding JJ up against him; there was a knife to her throat but Hotch knew immediately it wasn't necessary. JJ wasn't fighting, her skin was ghostly pale, her lips had a blue tinge to them and she was shivering as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. She was whimpering in pain as the man shifted his position and jostled her.

"Go ahead, talk." The knife pointed at her juggler and JJ tried to pull away.

"I can't…" For the first time in over a year, the team heard their friend's voice. And it sent chills down their spines.

"You want your meds, you talk. You know how this works."

Slowly, JJ's eyes fluttered open and she looked for the camera, her pupils unable to focus on anything. "I don't want them." She whispered before breaking into a coughing fit, her legs giving way. "I will.. never… beg you.. for.. anything." Her breathing was rapid.

The man laughed as he pulled her up by her arm to her feet. "But you will for oxygen."

JJ's coughing grew worse, they could see how labored her breathing was, how she struggled for each breath. "I… can't…. breathe," she gasped, falling to the floor again.

"Tell Clyde you are sorry and you can have your oxygen. Tell him your sorry and I will give you the nebulizer treatment to help you breathe."

"They have to intubate her…" Reid whispered, watching in horror as JJ was on the verge of respiratory arrest.

"Tell him you are sorry…" The voice said again, kicking JJ hard in the ribs as she fought for each breath on the ground. "Tell him you are sorry for spiting on him and this will be done."

Hotch closed his eyes; all this for JJ defending herself.

"I.. sorry…"

"Sorry?" The man laughed.

"I'm sorry, Clyde."

"Good girl." The man bent down and grabbed a mask that had been kept out of sight from the camera before slipping it over her nose and mouth, holding her up so that she didn't waste any energy.

The team watched in horror as her breathing worsened, as the man laughed and another man came in, a mask covering his face as well.

They were silent as the second man came over and pressed his stethoscope to her chest before shaking his head and grabbing his bag, forcing JJ to a laying position. "Sorry kiddo." He said, reaching under her shirt and grabbing a tube.

"That's the port she had…" Reid knew what was about to happen.

The team watched as JJ tried to fight him off, panic in her face, her hands flailing as the other man held her down and the mask to her face. And then, almost instantly as the second man injected liquid into the tube, JJ relaxed and went limp in his hands.

The second man then grabbed a large bag and brought it around, and the team watched as the two men worked together as a team. The mask was pulled away from JJ's face and the second man slipped a tube down her throat, before attaching it to a bag and handing it to the second man.

"She won't need to be intubated long. A few hours I think. Keep her in the compound; I'll come check on her soon." He said nothing else as he stood and grabbed his bag. And as he swung it around, Hotch's eye glanced something.

"Garcia! Freeze that!" He demanded and moved forward. The ghost of an emblem was on the bag, a logo had been removed. "Can you enhance that?"

"Yes, of course." Garcia replied.

And in a few minutes, the team saw as the emblem came forward. "Deer Creek University Medical College." And while it was small it was significant. They had a lead. And more questions raced through his mind- why was the video, this moment so significant- significant enough for Clyde to have his own copy of it. And then he realized why; the doctor hadn't given JJ's enough sedative apparently, because suddenly she reached up and pulled off the masks of one of the men. Clyde was the man holding the knife to her throat- he had forced her to apologize to himself and recorded it.

And as the video continued to play, as JJ fought the sedatives, as the men restrained her; Hotch had already arranged to have Rossi and Emily fly out to the university; the university that was located miles from where JJ had vanished from.


	34. Chapter 34

**AN: Filler chapter, but its here to show JJs condition. Also, yes, it is slow, but in the real world, people do not just snap back from a coma :) JJ is really sick and really injured- it'll be a while!**

Will stood in the shower, not realizing that the water was no longer hot, doing everything he could to stop the tears from spilling down his cheeks. Hotch had offered to sit with JJ so that Will could get a few minutes break and while Will did not want to leave, Hotch had forced him out, promising not to leave JJ's side.

It was Ross who had escorted him back to a private shower, a private lounge to allow Will to relax without going far. That had been twenty minutes ago, and Will remained in the shower, unable to do anything but just stand there.

The full impact of what he was facing, of what JJ was facing, had finally hit him full force. A social worker had stepped in and asked to speak with him privately, when Will had refused to leave, the social worker sat with him in JJ's room she slept.

The social worker had been a kind older lady but had brought Will crashing back to earth following JJ's seemingly remarkable improvement. She had told them that while JJ had improved, they were still looking at months in the hospital followed by a rehab facility. And then they had to discuss their home; according to the social worker, their home was not appropriate for JJ.

"Nothing is wrong with it!" Will had hissed at her, looking back at JJ to make sure she was still sleeping.

"I'm sure it's wonderful, but Agent Jareau will likely be wheelchair bound for several months if not longer." She had explained in a gentle voice. "Is your home wheelchair accessible?"

Will shook his head, and it hit him. Everything JJ would need moving forward. And it absolutely terrified him. The social worker spoke about home health, 24-hour nursing assistance, distance between their home and hospitals, accessible transportation and training on the care JJ would need upon discharge.

He had been able to hold it together until the worker left and when he went and sat back down with JJ, he saw she had been awake. He had talked to her, told her how proud he was of her, reassured her that she was safe and that he wasn't going anywhere. Promised he loved her and would do everything he could to make this right. And she had nodded back at him.

Her condition had continued to improve, astonishing doctors and nurses and specialists. The one thing that wasn't improving though was her mental health. It was becoming increasingly obvious that JJ was suffering from a litany of conditions; depression, anxiety and PTSD were being discussed.

She still flinched at the slightest touch, she would wake up terrified from what they could only assume was a nightmare, any noise the monitors would make would send her into a panic, staff had to be exceedingly aware of the time spent in the room with her and she would tense up if she saw them approaching her with any medical equipment. Her list of triggers was astronomical and becoming longer and longer every day. And it broke Will's heart. He didn't know how to help her, it didn't seem like anyone did.

But he also saw the immense strength JJ possessed. He saw how hard she was fighting, he saw her desperately trying not to be afraid, to regulate herself. He saw her forcing herself to allow the staff to touch her saw how she was doing everything she was asked.

He wondered what was going on in her mind; he wondered if she understood what was happening, what had happened. As far as he knew, nobody had told her anything and she had never asked. They had tried to encourage her to communicate, a speech therapist was working with her but if that therapist got too close to JJ, she would shut down instantly. It was Ross' idea to see if they had a nurse that could help with sign language and the idea had taken off. Slowly, JJ was picking up more and more signs and she was able to sign if she was tired or if the answer was yes or no.

She was aware enough now that she was starting to realize that she had numerous medical devices attached to her and she would often sign and ask for them to be removed.

"Not yet, JJ." Will would take her hand in his own. "Soon, but you need those for a bit longer."

What scared him the most was that JJ didn't seem to have a short-term memory; she would ask a question and then ask again a few minutes later. He had remained patient with her, just happy to be communicating with his wife.

In the last few days, Will had watched as her condition continued to improve; every day brought new improvements. And he relished in those; the small things. But what he wouldn't give to hold her in his arms, stand with her in the kitchen, hear her laugh. And while he maintained a positive outlook for JJ, his heart was shattered because he didn't know if she would ever speak again.

Sighing, he turned off the shower and grabbed a clean pair of clothes before heading back for JJ. He rolled his neck before walking into her room and saw Hotch smiling at her.

"JJ, Will's here." Hotch was careful and stood up slowly. "Show him."

Will raised an eyebrow and watched and came and sat next to her before smiling down. "Show me what, beautiful?" He ran his hand in her hair and watched her expression. It took several tries and he saw her growing frustrated. "It's okay, keep trying."

And slowly he saw his miracle happen. "Will."

"JJ." And this time, he couldn't stop the tears.


	35. Chapter 35

**AN: Turning point here :) Thank you for the reviews. Please keep in mind I have ZERO medical training, I know CPR because I was forced to take the class. But if someone vomits in front of me, count me out!**

 **If you are a medical person and want to help me with someone the terminology (I promise, I wont ask you anything about my own personal health or my kids, or friends or family...) I would appreciate it!**

Dr. Arnold Moor sat back in his leather chair, listening intently as the two FBI agents spoke candidly about their most recent case.

"We were hoping to speak to you as you are the chair of the department," Emily said.

"Of course agents, what can I do for you?" He had received a call earlier that morning that the feds wanted to speak with him about a possible former student and that they needed to speak as soon as possible. Moor had canceled his classes for the rest of the day and cleared his schedule, willing to help the agents with whatever he could.

"Does this look familiar?" Emily placed a paper in front of him with an enhanced emblem on it.

Moor slid on his glasses and picked up the paper, studying the image. He nodded silently. "Yes, that's our school emblem. Why, has something happened involving the school?"

"We found that at a crime scene; we need to know if you have any identifying information on who might have had access to those?"

Moor nodded, "We used those for our new class about fifteen years ago; mailed them as an acceptance gift to the students we had accepted that year."

"Do you remember how large the class was?" Rossi asked.

"Yes of course, we had approximately 221 students. Of those, 201 graduated."

"And the other twenty?"

Moor shook his head, "Some decided medicine wasn't for them, one passed away after a sudden illness and a few just couldn't make the grades. We are a rigorous program and place high demands on our students. They hate us for it at the onslaught but later thank us for the intensity as they say it makes them better physicians."

"Was anyone forced to leave the program because of behavior? Criminal activity?"

Moor nodded. "Yes, we had one person. Didn't like following ethics very much, wanted to do their own thing. I personally caught that person dealing narcotics and we promptly expelled them and alerted the authorities. Shame, because they were so close to graduation, had been one of our rising stars."

Emily looked at him. "Can you tell me more about this person?"

"Jody? Sure. Intelligent, brilliant actually. Wanted to go forward with general surgery but floated between that an emergency medicine. Had a knack for chemistry really; would draw organic makeups that some of our most advanced researchers couldn't dream up."

Rossi and Emily looked at each other, finally it seemed they had a lead. "Do you remember Jody's last name?"

"Of course, Jody Aaron." Moor nodded. "Not sure what happened to Jody; never heard from them again." He shrugged. "I think the police dropped the charges but nobody ever knew what really happened."

"I know its been a while, but do you know if Jody ever hurt anyone, had thoughts of hurting someone?"

Moor laughed "No, I don't think so. I mean some of the chemistry that Jody would come up with could wreck serious havoc in a person's body if they were ever exposed to it."

"Like what?" Rossi asked.

Moor sighed and closed his eyes. "Horrible things, heart failure, memory issues, seizures, internal bleeding. Jody never produced the stuff of course said they were just interested in the chemical reactions."

"And that didn't concern you?" Emily asked.

"Of course it did, but it wasn't illegal. Jody never had access to the chemicals to make it…"

"Did Jody have the intelligence? If given the supplies, could Jody do it?

Moor swallowed. "What has Jody done?"

"We believe Jody is responsible for the abduction and torture of a federal agent; her condition is improving but it is not known if the chemical she was subjected to has done any permanent damage."

"Oh God." Moor shook his head. "Wh.. what can I do to help?"

"Have you had any contact with Jody since the expulsion?"

Moor shook his head, "No; Jody seemed to have vanished. As far as I know, nobody in that class ever spoke with Jody again."

Emily nodded and she and Rossi stayed for another hour before handing their cards to Moor. "If you think of anything else, please call." They instructed before heading towards the door.

"Of course, and I hope your agent gets well soon." He watched as they left before sitting back down in his chair and rubbing his bald head. He watched as the clock ticked past ten minutes before allowing himself to pick up his phone and dialing his husband's number.

"Honey?" Came the calm voice on the other end.

"They found us Jody, they found us." Moor held back a tear, urging his voice not to crack. "They came right to me."

"Did you stick to the plan?" Jody's voice remained cool and collected.

"Of course, they are looking for someone named Jody Aaron."

There was silence on the other end, "Well, they won't find Jody Aaron, but I will send them a message from Jody Moor. Don't worry honey, we have them cornered, they just don't know it yet."

"are you sure? Are you sure youre plan is going to work?" Moor hiccuped, his face flush.

"Yes, I am. I am watching as she continues to improve; her vitals are getting better. I've got complete access to her virtual medical chart; I have real-time access to all of her monitors there are video monitors in the room that nobody has noticed." He paused. "And there is another chip nobody knows about..."

"You didn't..." Moor's face cracked into a half smile; his husband was brilliant.

"I did; and now only the two of us know. I don't think she even knows."

"It's only a matter of time before she…"

"Yes honey, its only a matter of time before their world is ripped from under them. Now, why don't you come home and we can go on that amazing vacation you've been promising me?" There was silence. "Don't worry about Jennifer baby, I've still got complete control over this. Over her. They just don't know it yet."

And Moor smiled; glad he had found a husband he could truly count on.


	36. Chapter 36

**AN: I apologize for the delay in updating! I have been so busy! Please review!**

Hotch stood outside the ICU room, his arms crossed as he quietly observed what was going on inside the room. JJ was awake, JJ was aware, JJ was alive. It was three things he did not see as possible when he had received that phone call just over nine days ago telling him his agent had been found. The fact that JJ continued to improve significantly astounded him. Not that he didn't believe in his agent; not that he didn't think she could; but he believed firmly in science. And science had been telling him that JJ was not going to be awake, aware or alive.

And Reid had confirmed that; had met with Hotch and confirmed Hotch's fears. Even Reid, their genius, did not think JJ would ever recover. In fact, Reid had confided with Hotch that they needed to prepare for the worst. And Hotch had believed him.

And JJ had proven them all wrong; proven the doctors wrong, their science wrong and Reid wrong. And despite JJ thriving and healing; she still remained in the ICU; still highly dependent on machines; on others for nearly her every task. Everything.

Her breathing had apparently improved significantly, but not enough for the doctor's to fully trust that she was able to breathe completely on her own… yet. The staff had done trials to see if she could maintain her airway during the day without the assistance of the ventilator. And she had sailed past that test; but did struggle at night. She required assistance at night, but during the day, when JJ was awake, JJ defied odds and was able to breathe with little to no assistance.

With her breathing stabilizing, the speech therapist had taught Will and helped JJ understand how she would need to speak with the trach. Will had quickly jumped in, eager to help in anyway he could. He cringed every time he reached over to cover the trach so JJ could talk; she still jumped when anyone touched her.

 _"_ _See JJ, when Will covers this and places his hand just over the trach; it makes it easier for you to speak." The speech therapist had explained. "Go ahead and try," She had taken Will's hand and guided him to the tube, "just gently cover it while she speaks, and then lift your hand away."_

 _"_ _I.. I won't hurt her, will I?" Will had asked._

 _"_ _No, not at all. Just don't keep it covered too long!"_

And Will had done it, covered the small opening and JJ had been able to speak. It wasn't much, hardly anything, but so much at the same time. If she was having a great day, JJ maybe able to string three words together; more often then that, it was just one word. And it was everything. And as each day passed, her speech improved.

But she was incredibly weak; and the team could tell it was frustrating her. Will had to help her speak as she didn't have the strength to lift up and hold her hands over the tube while speaking. It was too much for her; her hand would shake as soon as she lifted it- but she kept going- kept fighting.

And as Hotch looked in, he saw JJ sitting up in bed with extensive support. Nurses were on her side, Will behind her and a team of physical therapists supporting her. JJ's face was red and grimaced in pain; sweat was tricking down her temple as the team spoke softly to her, encouraging her that in a just a few more seconds, she could lay back down. He looked away when he saw the pain in her face, saw tears building as she shook in pain.

His powerful agent, the agent that could easily have taken down a man three times her size just eighteen months ago; was now fighting to learn to do everything on her own again. Including sitting up. And he could tell she was struggling; fighting with everything in her, but struggling.

And the staff was fighting with her; helping her regain so much of what she had lost. Her physical and occupational skills, her speech, the ability to eat and drink, and soon, they would begin working with her on learning to use a wheelchair.

Because the devastating blow had come just the day before. When Ross and a neurologist had met with Hotch and Will; along with the physical therapist. Together, the medical team had gently told them that they had not observed any movement below JJ's waist since she arrived in the ER; that even using advanced medical tests and treatments, she was not responding. And that when they had purposefully touched her below the waist, both when she was sleeping and awake- she had not noticed. It appeared to the that she was paralyzed below the waist and they were not hopeful. Ross had added that JJ had surprised them at every turn and that he didn't count her out, but right now, he did not foresee her walking again. He gently reminded them that when JJ had first arrived in the ER; they had discovered the spinal fracture and they had no idea how long she had had it, or if any treatment had ever been provided.

 _"_ _Does she know?" Will had asked softly._

 _"_ _No, we don't think so. We haven't told her but she hasn't asked." Ross had responded. Will had nodded and excused himself, unable to hear more at the moment._

 _Hotch waited for Will to leave and took in a breath, "She may know, we still do not know what she knows; if she could tell us anything about what happened to her…"_

 _Ross looked at him, his eyes wide. "agent…" He said warning Hotch._

 _"_ _Ross, we have to. We have to talk to her about what happened. We need to know if she can help us at all. I promise we will be careful, gentle, we will go at her pace." Hotch looked away. "We are running out of time."_

 _"_ _Excuse me?" Ross shot at him._

 _"_ _This is an open case and I cannot give out that information; but we have reason to believe JJ is still in significant danger and we need to speak to her."_

 _"_ _Agent, JJ cannot speak more than a few words at a time…"_

 _"_ _That's all I need. Closed ended questions." Hotch had replied._

And they had argued, back and forth, but Ross had caved with numerous precautions in place. So Hotch stood at the door, waiting for Emily to join him. They were going to do this together. They were going to interview JJ and see what she could tell them.

They had it planned; Emily would ask the questions, Ross would monitor her vitals from the nurses desk, and they would only ask the bare minimum. Ross had imposed a time frame, only fifteen minutes. And Hotch had taken it.

"Are we ready to do this?" Emily's voice startled Hotch and he nodded in her direction.

"Morgan is going to handle Will; get him out of here for a little bit. He knows we are doing this, but we don't need him in there." Hotch explained softly, watching as the team got JJ settled back into bed and comfortable.

"Does she know we are about to do this, Hotch?" Hotch shook his head; feeling queasy at what he was about to put his agent through.

"We can't wait any longer; whoever did this to her will come back." He didn't wait for an answer, just knocked on the door and held it open for Emily. He waited until the room was empty, save for him, Emily and JJ. "Hi JJ," He greeted her smiling at her as he took a seat next to her. "Morgan is forcing Will to go and get a decent lunch; I think he's taking him to get some new clothes too."

JJ smiled at them; her eyes clearer then he had seen them in a long time. "JJ, the speech therapist taught us how to help you talk so if you need to say something, just let us know, okay?" JJ blinked at him, signifying her understanding.

"Hi JJ," Emily spoke softly, taking a seat next to Hotch. "You look like you are doing better." JJ slowly lifted her hand for just a brief moment and gave a thumbs up. "Okay, show off." Emily laughed. "JJ, we need to ask you a few questions okay?" Emily said softly, watching JJ's expression for any sign of discomfort. Slowly, JJ nodded.

"Alright, you just nod for yes and shake your head for no, how does that sound?" JJ nodded; knowing what was coming. "Okay, its just me and Hotch in here; no staff is coming in for a bit."

And Emily took a deep breath, ready for the hardest interview she was going to have to give; the hardest she was going to have to hear.


	37. Chapter 37

**AN: PLEASE PLEASE read this authors note. This chapter should be rated "R". Its not graphic but does imply how sick Doc is. And starts to explain more about why JJ is so scared. There is a medical rape scene in this chapter, it is not graphic but can be uncomfortable. You can skip this chapter if you need to!**

"JJ, you just let us know when to stop, okay?" Emily said softly. She knew JJ was fully aware of what was going on, what was about to happen. "We don't want you to push yourself too hard; Ross will murder me if something happens to you during this. If you don't remember, its okay." Emily explained, bracing herself for what she was about to hear.

JJ nodded her understanding. 'I remember' she mouthed, hoping Emily could understand her.

Emily's smiled. "You remember, huh?" JJ nodded again. "Do you remember what happened when they took you?" JJ nodded again as Hotch stood in the corner, intently listening to every word, watching every movement. "Was it in the winter?"

'No,' JJ mouthed, understanding what they were doing; testing her memory to see if her recall was accurate. 'August.' She mouthed again, jumping ahead of Emily's line of questioning.

Emily smiled, "Okay, I see what you are doing. Yes, it was August," she confirmed. "Do you remember where you were?"

'Basement' JJ mouthed again, thankful Emily could read her lips. 'Morgan.'

"Yes, in a basement with Morgan.' Emily confirmed and while Morgan had not been with JJ at the moment of her abduction, he had been with her on the scene. "What happened after you went into the basement?" Emily asked, momentarily forgetting her promise to Ross to only ask closed ended questions.

JJ took a deep breath and tried to lift her hand to cover the trach that would allow for her to talk. She was able to raise her hand higher then she ever had, but couldn't quite muster the strength just yet to hold it over her throat.

"We got it JJ," Hotch said, remembering how Maria had warned Hotch when approaching JJ from the side. Purposefully, Hotch made sure he was in JJ's line of sight before telling her what he was doing; waiting for her nod before he placed a gloved hand over the trach tube, occluding it and allowing her to speak.

"Thank…. You…" Her voice was raspy, weak, different. But it was there. Hotch removed his hand and waited for JJ's nod before covering it again. "Attack..ed." She forced herself to say, "Behind…"

"You were attacked from behind? Do you know who did it?"

"L.. Leaff." She said softly. "Dart…"

And they continued in this manner; JJ able to answer questions without hesitation. Her recall matched exactly what Leaff had told Hotch; and he made his stomach twist. Everything Leaff had told them so far had matched up with JJ's account. And while he was relieved to know JJ remembered aspects of it and that Leaff was telling them the truth- it terrified him. Because JJ was improving and doing exceptionally well, just like Leaff had promised.

"JJ, can you tell us about the chip?" Emily shifted in her chair.

'First day.." She said softly. "Changed..once week." The sentence had warn her out and Hotch saw her growing tired.

"JJ, do you need to rest? We can pick back up later?" Hotch asked, keeping in mind what Ross had demanded.

She shook her head. "Keep..going."

And while his gut told him to stop, he nodded at Emily to continue.

"JJ, they changed the chip every week?" Emily asked, this was the first they had heard of it. And JJ nodded, "Did they always put it in your arm?"

'No," JJ mouthed. 'Everywhere.'

Emily looked to Hotch, fear in her stomach. "Do you remember where the last one was?" Her mind had gone to a terrible place; hoping that there still was not a chip in her friend. JJ nodded. "Where?"

"Back." She said softly. "Lower…" Emily looked to Hotch, both thinking the same thing. Was this what had caused her paralysis.

"Do you know if they removed it?"

JJ shook her head, "Don't know." She paused again, then motioned for Hotch to cover so she could speak. "GPS." She said softly. "Tried… run."

"You tried to escape?" Emily asked softly, deciding to allow JJ just to talk instead of asking targeted questions. JJ nodded. "Okay, what happened?"

"Found me." She said. "Doc… got mad."

"Do you remember Doc? Anything about Doc?" Hotch asked quickly, wanting to catch this bastard.

JJ nodded. "Everything." There was power in the word and both Emily and Hotch smiled at one another. They were finally going to get this bastard.

"JJ, can you talk about Doc today? What Doc did?" Emily pushed not wanting to overwhelm JJ.

JJ nodded; she was growing tired, her body was aching. But she had been waiting so long for this, to regain some power. And she was ready to help her team find Doc.

"Alright, you just tell us when to stop." Emily explained. "Was Doc a man or woman?"

'Man' JJ mouthed, fighting off sleep. 'White… older…'

"What else can you tell us about Doc?"

JJ grunted, pain beginning to course through her body. 'Surgeon' she mouthed. 'Designed.. drugs.' Emily nodded wordlessly. 'I… broke his nose." It was getting harder for her to communicate, but Emily and Hotch saw the determination in her eyes and knew better to stop. "When he.. tried to…" and she stopped, suddenly stopped talking and looked away. Her eyes became glassy for a few moments and neither Hotch nor Emily spoke; it was clear JJ was remembering something.

 _"_ _Well, well, well… who do we have here?" An middle aged man walked into the small room snapping on his gloves as he approached the struggling woman._

 _"_ _This is who we grabbed yesterday, Doc." Clyde said as he stood in the room, watching JJ struggling against the restraints. It was useless of course, she wasn't going anywhere_.

 _Doc nodded, a smile forming on his face. "We haven't had a healthy one like you in a few years." He laughed, grabbing a seat next to her. "Stay still for me hon, I just need to look you over." He reached for her wrist and she jerked away._

 _"_ _Get the hell away from me." JJ spat. She was terrified but determined not to show it._

 _"_ _You're a feisty one, aren't you?" Doc nodded to Clyde, "has she been given anything?"_

 _"_ _Not this morning; the tranquilizer from yesterday knocked her out pretty good. We haven't given her anything today though. She refused to eat…"_

 _"_ _She'll learn; they all do." He turned for a moment and then came back towards JJ, a large needle in his hand. "Okay honey, this is how this works." He tapped the syringe so that JJ could clearly see the liquid inside. "You let me examine you and we won't need this. If you decide to try and fight me, you will get this. All of it. And from what I understand, it doesn't make you feel good."_

 _JJ stared at him. "I will never let you touch me," She hissed, refusing to give in._

 _"_ _That's too bad, honey. Because you and I are going to have a great time together. Provided you survive." He inched closer and nodded to Clyde. "Last chance, are you going to behave?"_

 _JJ stared at him and the needle; she knew she was outnumbered, knew this was not going to work well for her. And stopped struggling. Knew it was best for her to save her strength for later. "Good girl," he cooed, recapping the needle and setting it down far behind JJ's grasp before turning back towards her. "I just need to give you an exam, I won't hurt you, not yet." He smiled, grabbing his medical tools. "Just like when you go to the doctor's office."_

 _JJ didn't say anything as she felt the man's hands explore her throat, press on her stomach and look into her eyes and ears. Didn't say anything as he pressed his stethoscope to her chest. "Did you get labs drawn on her?" He asked and JJ heard Clyde respond that he had. A chill went down her spine; what the hell was happening?_

 _"_ _Yes, came back clear. She's healthy as can be." Clyde said as he moved closer._

 _"_ _Good to hear," Doc moved closer. "Okay honey, this is where its going to get uncomfortable," He said, "You need to go change into a gown for me, we have to make sure your healthy inside and out." He said, grabbing a hospital gown and placing it on her lap._

 _"_ _What?" JJ shook her head, knowing what was coming. "No." She looked around the room and saw more medical supplies and her heart jumped into her throat at the idea of what was to come._

 _"_ _You don't get a choice sweetheart," Doc said softly, moving in closer. "I'll be gentle, it wont take long but it needs to happen. I've gone to school for this, I know its uncomfortable and embarrassing. You'll be getting these exams routinely so you need to get use to the idea."_

 _"_ _Its rape." JJ spat, trying to stop herself from showing any fear._

 _Doc smiled. "I'm a doctor honey; I know you are scared. But we will go into another room and it will be just you and me and Clyde. I have the correct supplies so it will be easy; we won't need to improvise. Are you pregnant?" He reached over to stroke her hair and JJ pulled away violently._

 _"_ _No…"_

 _"_ _Okay, we will double check; we have birth control we will start you on; just an IUD. It won't hurt but that way no babies will come during your stay with us."_

 _JJ was trembling, "Don't touch me." She growled, her eyes darting between him and the gown on her lap. "I'm FBI… my team is going to find me, they know I am missing."_

 _Doc smiled again, "What are you scared of baby? You've had these exams before, right? It's no different…"_

 _"_ _You're forcing this on me, it's different in every way! I am saying no!" She screamed at him._

 _"_ _Okay honey," His voice remained calm and he stood up. "Clyde is going to help you get changed and I will see you in the next room; we will give you some meds to help calm down." He didn't say anything else, just turned and left._

 _"_ _Alright, we can do this the hard way or the easy way." Clyde was in front of her, grabbing the gown and unfolding it. "Are you going to fight me?"_

 _JJ stared at him but didn't move, her body frozen in fear. "Leaff is coming to help us get you taken care of."_

 _Leaff walked in, whistling. He didn't say a word as he helped Clyde undress her, the restraints still holding her arms behind her back. "See, that wasn't hard!" Clyde said, lifting JJ to her feet. "Now, lets go this way." He guided her down the hall and into another room, JJ uncomfortably aware of how exposed she was in the gown. It opened in the front and was held together by two flimsy strings._

 _"_ _Okay, go sit on that table like a good girl and I will let Doc know you are ready." Clyde instructed, leaving Leaff with JJ before stepping out of the room._

 _JJ looked around, her terror increasing as she saw what was ahead of her. She backpaddled, trying to head back to the door, but Leaff grabbed her. "Sorry baby, can't go anywhere." He pulled her over and restrained her to the table. "You can keep your clothes on for now. But when Doc comes in, we have to take it off."_

 _JJ didn't respond. Where was her team? Where was anyone? This couldn't be real… this couldn't be happening. Not to her. This had to be a horrible nightmare… she began shaking, her entire body was shaking. And then the door swung open and Doc and Clyde walked back in and towards her._

 _Doc had changed and was now in medical scrubs, still smiling. "Okay honey, time to go." He said, taking a seat on the stool in front of her. He reached over and grabbed her ankles, attempting to swing her around on the table. But her instincts kicked in and JJ began to fight._

 _She fought hard, and managed to get one foot loose, kicking Doc in the face, sending blood spewing from his now broken nose. "Bitch!" He growled. "Clyde, do it!"_

 _JJ had no time to react, suddenly she was turned on her side and held down before feeling a burning pain in her hip. She cried out in pain, and arched her back attempting to move away as the drug pierced her skin. It was agony, and then it stopped and JJ felt the men release her. She rolled onto her back and tried to sit up. But her body wouldn't cooperate. She couldn't move._

 _"_ _I warned you baby doll," Doc said, looking over her as Clyde tightened the restraints. "We do this my way now." She couldn't move, couldn't do anything as her world caved around her. She felt everything, felt the men put her legs in the stirrups, felt the cold as her gown was taken away and she was completely exposed. She heard the clang on medical instruments, felt fingers where they shouldn't be, tried to pull away as she felt a cold metal instrument brush against her bare thigh._

 _"_ _No.." She pleaded, as Leaff sat down next to her head and began brushing her hair back._

 _"_ _It'll be over soon, love." He said softly, JJ watching his eyes. He was watching, watching what was about to happen to her. "Okay, here we go. It'll be okay." JJ hissed suddenly as the exam began, she tried to pull away but Clyde and Leaff held her in place. "Stay still love," Leaff whispered. She kept trying to pull away, gasping in pain. "Baby listen to me," Leaff grabbed her hand. "You need to let Doc finish; he is almost done."_

 _She wasn't sure how long it lasted, but felt her body relax when the instrument was withdrawn. Closed her eyes, shaking in pain as the three men talked above her. She heard Doc come near her and opened her eyes, he was smiling down at her, snapping off his bloodied gloves. "We are going to have so much fun with you." He reached down and gently smoothed her hair back. "You were a good girl and I will see you tomorrow."_

 _He left the room, barking instructions on what to do next for Leaff and Clyde. "Can you sit up?" Leaff asked, slowly loosening the restraints. He put his arm behind her back and helped guide her to a sitting position._

 _JJ shook in pain. This was not normal. "What.. what did he do to me?" She closed her eyes, the nausea growing worse._

 _"_ _He gave you an exam." Leaff replied, reaching over and grabbing a wet cloth before wiping blood away from her. "Took some samples, we have to make sure you aren't sick before proceeding with the project. Clyde will take a look at them and we will know in a few hours if you are a good candidate for our research."_

 _JJ glared at him, but the room began spinning. "Go to sleep, little one. I will take care of you." Leaff whispered, pushing her down on the table and covering her with a soft blanket. And while she tried to fight it off, she failed and fell asleep almost instantly._

Hotch sat outside the ICU, at the nurses desk, waiting for Ross to answer his text. He and Emily sat together, neither saying a word. Both processing what they had just learned. This was far beyond what they had expected, and it went to show just how little they did know about what had happened to their friend. And it had made them sick to their stomachs; they had an idea that JJ had been sexually assaulted, but not like this.

And that had been the first time JJ had met Doc. She had been with him for over a year. And both agents knew there was so much more to come. JJ had told them about Doc, about what he had done to her repeatedly; they had only been able to talk for eight minutes before JJ became so tired that she simply could not continue.

They would have to interview her again. And again. And again.

"Where do we go from here?" Emily asked, breaking the silence.

Hotch shook his head. "I don't know. We need to locate Doc, he will be our key."

"What about Leaff?" Emily asked hopefully.

"I will talk to him again; he never mentioned this."

Emily nodded as she saw Ross approaching. "Is she okay?" He asked, handing each agent a cup of coffee.

Hotch rubbed his face, nobody was okay now. "Did she have a gynecological exam upon her admittance?"

Ross's expression changed slightly. "We did a rape exam, but that's it." He paused. "Does she need one?"

Emily looked away, "yes."

And they knew that subjecting JJ to that would be a task; and it came back to the same question. What did they sacrifice? Do they exam for the sake of her physical health and risk her mental health? Or forsake the physical exam to preserve her mental health.

And nobody had the answer.


	38. Chapter 38

**AN: Remember, this is NOT a short story. PLEASE review, I really enjoy reading them!**

Ross stood with his arms crossed; standing over JJ. She was a medical miracle; there was no other way to explain it. Science couldn't explain it, nothing could. Except a miracle. Since her arrival on Christmas day, to now, days after Valentine's Day; Ross had watched as she went from essentially dead on arrival, to improving, to now, defying all odds.

Today, Agent Jareau was officially breathing on her own. The trach been removed two days before and while she had initially required some oxygen support, she was now breathing without assistance. Now was breathing completely on her own.

And she was speaking. Granted, her voice was raspy, and soft, but with time, Ross knew she would get there.

One thing, however, that was not improving, was JJ's reaction to touch. She still jumped when someone touched her, her heart rate would sky rocket when anyone came near her with any medical supplies. And despite everyone explaining what they were doing, despite JJ using any coping skills she had, her body still reacted. The monitors still recorded how frightened she was. She couldn't hide that.

"JJ," Ross pulled up a seat next to her. "Your team ganged up on me; and while I am confident I can handle a team of FBI agents," He smiled at her as she grinned at him. "I lost when my wife and Maria took their side."

"Yeah?" JJ said softly. She kept telling herself that Ross was a good guy, a good doctor, he had saved her life. But he still made her uneasy, everyone made her uneasy. Her eyes darted to the door, knowing one of her team was just outside and would never let anyone hurt her again.

"Yeah." Ross sighed and reached over and pushed the nurse call button. "Apparently, they think allowing you outside of this room for a little bit will help you."

JJ's eye went wide. "Outside?"

"Slow down there," He stood up. "Not outside."

"Why?" She missed it, missed the fresh air, the wind, all of it.

"Why? Because believe it or not, you are still not in fantastic shape. And we are in Oklahoma and there is a storm coming; its not the safest atmosphere for you my dear."

"Five minutes." JJ begged, "Please." The thought was tantalizing, it was so close. "I won't get hurt."

"I am not worried about you getting hurt, I am worried about you relapsing." He laughed as Maria came in with a team of nurses and a wheelchair. "However, I have lost again. I have been reassured you will have a body guard with you at all times and that it will only be five minutes." He moved out of the way as Maria locked the wheelchair into place and began transferring various tubes and wires over. "So, here is the compromise- I have agreed to let you go with Agent Morgan down the hall; there is an atrium two floors up. Its very quiet and you need an access code to get in there. You and Agent Morgan will have the entire area to yourselves; I believe the windows have been open all day; but you won't be exposed to any other patients." He reached behind Maria and began setting up the wheelchair with all of the required supplies. "But only for five minutes." He cautioned.

"How about ten?" JJ tried, feeling happiness for the first time in a long while.

Ross stopped and turned and looked at her. "No ma'am, you might not think it, but this is going to wear you out. You will be exhausted by the time you get back here."

"Just sitting." She still struggled to form a sentence, but her audience typically got what she was saying.

"Yes, but in case you've forgotten, sitting seems to take a lot of energy. That's right, Agent Jareau, I pay attention to your physical therapy."

"Let me try." She pleaded, watching as Ross took a seat next to her.

"No ma'am; I have finally gotten you somewhat stable. Tell you what, you handle five minutes today and then we will try for more tomorrow. Is that fair?"

"Not really." JJ huffed, but understood exactly where he was coming from.

"Well, sorry kiddo. I am laying down the law here. You are too important to me, to your team and family to allow for anything else to happen to you. And if something did, I am pretty sure Agent Hotchner would skin me alive- if your husband didn't get to me first."

JJ laughed softly, ignoring the pain that shot through her chest. "Okay, so is it okay if I check you out first?" Ross asked knowing now how to approach JJ. "Just listening to your heart and breath; nothing more than that. I have to check before you leave." He waited for her consent before slowly pressing the stethoscope to her chest. "Okay, you're good." He patted her gently on the hand. "Maria has to unhook you from all these monitors and hook you back up, okay? We have portable monitors and I am just not willing to take you off of them just yet."

JJ nodded and watched Maria as she unhooked the leads, tubes and wires before nodding at a team of a few nurses behind her. "Okay, we are just going to move you over."

Ross backed away, watching as the team carefully, expertly, transferred his patient from the bed to the wheelchair. He watched as JJ's expression suddenly changed to pained. "Are you okay?" He asked, watching as they gently set her down.

"Yes." JJ nodded, not wanting to tell the doctor anything. Her body was hurting, more than it typically did, but she knew if she said anything, her excursion would be ripped from her faster then she could ever dread.

They remained silent, working as a team to ensure that their patient was situated in the wheelchair. Once she was comfortable, Ross turned around and grabbed a folded blanket. "You keep this on you, do you understand?" He smiled at her as he gently tucked the blanket around her.

"Jay," Morgan walked in and smiled down at his friend. "I hear we are busting out of here." He grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.

"Not so fast, Agent Morgan." Ross stopped him. "I have a feeling Agent Jareau might try and convince you to stay away a bit longer. Five minutes. Tops."

"Spoil sport." JJ huffed as she felt Morgan begin to push the wheelchair out of the room.

"Let's get out of here." Morgan smiled, as he headed towards the elevator. He kept a close eye on JJ, watching as she looked around her, seemingly seeing everything for the first time. Multiple people smiled and waved at her as they rolled past.

"There's a lot of people." JJ whispered

"A lot of people have been taking care of you." Morgan replied, "I think at one point there was twenty two nurses and doctors in your room." JJ only nodded, didn't say anything. "They've taken good care of you JJ; from the moment you arrived at this hospital, they've taken wonderful care of you."

"I know." She replied softly, attempting to shift herself into a more comfortable position. Her body was aching beyond measure now, everything was hurting. But she couldn't readjust herself, didn't have the strength to move her body in any direction, and couldn't move below her waist. She still had a leg cast on her left leg and according to Ross, several pins in her pelvis, keeping it intact. She knew what had caused the injury, but was not ready to talk about that one. Not just yet.

The rest of the ride was quiet and JJ spent the peace taking in everything she could. Noises and voices, the sound of people. It was all so much and so welcome; for so long she had been locked away in a cell with no noise besides the beeping of machines. Noise right now, was welcome.

"Want to come back to me?" Morgan's voice ripped her from her daydream and JJ looked around. They were on the rooftop; in a small enclosed area with a peaceful garden. "We found this the other day, and Ross agreed to let you come see it."

JJ's smile widened tremendously as Morgan pushed her wheelchair closer to the flowers. JJ took it all in, the smell of the flowers, smell of an approaching storm, the wind on her face and the fresh air. She looked up and saw the sky, the sky. For the first time in a long time, she was able to look up and see the sky.

It was a cloudy day, humid, but perfect in every way. JJ remained silent as she took in everything, taking in everything she had missed for so long. The wind suddenly picked up and took her blanket off of her, sending it out and through the open window.

"JJ," JJ looked back to see Morgan taking off his jacket and wrapping it carefully around her; taking precaution not to jar her.

"I'm hot." She tried to shrug it off but didn't have the strength.

"Hot? Okay, well, just don't tell Ross." Morgan took the jacket back and sat down next to her, fiddling with his jacket.

"Morgan." JJ called his name softly.

"JJ?" He stood up, "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

JJ shook her head, leaning back into the wheelchair. "I'm okay." She smiled at him. "Morgan. It wasn't your fault."

Morgan's head shot up and he looked at her. "JJ…"

"Listen to me…" She shivered, wondering why she was feeling cold in the humid air, "It wasn't your fault." She began coughing, her chest causing agonizing pain now but she unwilling to show anything to Morgan; not yet. He needed to hear this; needed to hear her.

"JJ," Morgan stood up; something was wrong.

"Morgan. Please. You…" She had to stop, to try and take a deep breath, "did nothing wrong." She fought to get out. Something was wrong. Something was going very wrong.

"JJ, we have to get inside."

"Not.. five…" She gasped, coughing. Blood suddenly began pouring from her mouth and Morgan reached over and helped JJ turn her head in time for her to expel the blood. "Minutes."

"JJ, I don't care." He was panicking. Something was very, very wrong. The monitors were alarming suddenly. JJ's body was trembling, her lips had blue tinge; her cheeks were red and Morgan reached over to touch her and pulled his hand back in alarm. She was burning up.

"Morgan…" JJ coughed; wheezing, struggling to get air into her lungs. She felt her body losing control, felt her body begin to shake hard. "Help." She arched her back in pain as a spasm wracked through her body.

"Okay, JJ, okay!" Morgan knew he needed to get her to Ross; knew a wheelchair couldn't do the stairs. He looked at JJ, at the wires and tubes connected to her and the wheelchair. "JJ, I am so sorry." He reached down her shirt and yanked off the leads, grabbing only tubes that he knew were connected to her lifting her into his arms. She cried out in pain and turned her head to his chest, trying to regulate herself as the pain intensified.

Morgan ran, he ran with her in his arms to the door and yanked. Nothing happened. He yanked again and again- the door didn't budge.

And as JJ cried out in pain again, as more blood spewed from her mouth; it began to pour down rain. And the door remained locked.


	39. Chapter 39

**AN: Thank you sooooo much for the reviews! I LOVE them; they always make my day! PLEASE review and the next chapter is when I am really going to need someone who has medical knowledge! ALL you have to do is PM me! Pretty please!**

Ross stared at the clock, anger rising slowly in his body. He tapped his pen as he watched the minutes tick by; six minutes, seven, eight… his eyes darted over to the elevator every time he heard it ding. And still no agents.

"For crying out loud, Ross," Maria huffed, staring at him. "Go find them if you are so worried. She probably just convinced Agent Morgan to give her a few more minutes. God knows she needs to control something."

Ross glared at her; he knew she was right. Yet something was nagging at him; something deep. He had been in the Army years before and he knew this feeling- a gut instinct. Something was wrong. And he had learned long ago to trust that instinct.

Not giving it a second thought; Ross grabbed his keycard, a blanket and a random assortment of portable medical supplies and headed to the patio; to where he knew they had gone. He grumbled and growled as he took the stairs, wanting to give Agent Morgan an earful once he found them.

He reached the door and scanned his card, unlocking the door. He stepped outside and froze. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"JJ!" Morgan's heart was racing. The door was jammed and JJ was suffocating on her own blood. "Hold on JJ," Morgan squatted down, trembling as he placed JJ on the cold, wet ground. He pressed his fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse. It was there and it was racing. "Hold on Jay, we are going to get you help." He ran his hand down her cheek, watching in horror as she fought to breathe.

"Morgan.." She couldn't move, couldn't roll over, and Morgan knew exactly what to do. Gently, he rolled her onto her side, allowing more blood to spill from her mouth. It was a tremendous amount and Morgan was powerless. He held JJ's head to the side and pounded on the door, screaming for help.

"JJ, don't talk." He ordered, kicking himself for leaving his phone downstairs. His mind was racing trying desperately to come up with an idea of how to help.

JJ coughed again and screamed as a sharp pain shot through her body; Morgan dropped to his knees. "JJ, look at me," He reached over and grabbed her head in his hands, trying to get her to look at him. Her eyes were glazed and he noticed, that without him holding her head, it lolled to the side. But JJ was still conscious. Her breathing was rapid, he could hear her struggling to inhale and he knew right that now, that at any second, JJ would stop breathing. He had to keep her awake, conscious; he had to find help.

Gently, he forced JJ into a sitting position, and sat down with her; allowing her body to rest against his. He had no other options, he knew someone was coming soon- someone had to be. Ross had been adamant about only five minutes and they were well past that at this point.

JJ leaned back into Morgan's chest; still struggling but able to breathe easier this way. "That's it," Morgan said softly, rubbing her back. "I'm right here JJ; nothing is going to happen." He forced himself to say; cringing as she coughed up more blood. What the hell was happening?

"Hurts." JJ gasped, wanting to lay back down. "Morgan… I have… to lay.. down." But she couldn't move; her body wouldn't cooperate and Morgan was holding her forcefully against his body.

"I know JJ, I know. But you can't breathe laying down." Morgan replied, wrapping his arms under her ribs to keep her from sliding down. He could feel her body shaking in pain and it broke his heart, but he couldn't allow her to lay down. Not yet.

JJ had become quiet and Morgan gently brushed her hair out of her way; and when he pulled his hand back, he noticed more blood. She was bleeding from everywhere. Carefully, he pivoted and grabbed his jacket before wiping the blood away from her ears and mouth, "Sorry, JJ." He said softly, taking extra care to reduce her anxiety. "Ross is coming, he will help you."

JJ nodded and let her head relax against Morgan's chest; "I'm tired, Morgan." She wheezed, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"JJ.." He hated asking this, but he knew he had no choice. "JJ, we know this happened before. What did they do to help?"

JJ coughed again, more blood spewing from her mouth. She had to wrack her brain to think; "I don't know." She whispered.

"I need you to think JJ; was it a shot?" His mind had flashed back to the video when JJ couldn't breathe, when they had to intubate her. And while he had no idea if this was related, his gut was telling him it was.

JJ shook her head. "I don't know.. Morgan. They did it… so much. Every time was… different." She coughed again and groaned. She was trying to help; trying to think of what to tell him, but her mind was in a fog.

Morgan nodded, not wanting to press JJ any further. He kept his eye on the door knowing that any second someone would come through it. He had taken his eyes off of JJ for seconds when he felt her body twitching, jerking. "hey, hey now." He repositioned her, watching as the movements became more frequent. "JJ, can you talk to me?"

JJ nodded, unable to control the jerky in her body. Every jerk caused more pain. "I want to go home, Morgan." She whispered.

"I know JJ, I promise, I will get you home," he began and stopped.

The door was finally opening.

"JJ, help is here. Let's go!" Carefully, he stood up, and lifted JJ into his arms. As soon as she was in cradled in his arms, her breathing got worse. "Ross!" Morgan screamed.

"What happened?" Ross rushed over, shocked at the sight in front of him. "JJ?"

"I'm… cold…" She replied as Ross pressed his fingers to her neck,

"Lets get her back to the ICU." Ross said, holding open the door. "Quickly." He took off his lab coat and draped it over her, concerned about her color, the blood, and her breathing. Neither Morgan nor Ross spoke as they rushed JJ downstairs and into the familiar room.

"Maria!" Ross shouted as Morgan placed JJ down in the bed; the experienced doctor reached behind the bed and hit the code button; knowing help would be arriving almost instantly. "What happened, Morgan?" Ross asked again, pressing his stethoscope to her chest. Instantly, his own heart jumped. Her heart rate was low; he could hear her struggling to get oxygen. He waited for an answer as he reached behind the bed and grabbed the nasal cannula before turning on the oxygen and slipping the tube over JJ's nose. He quickly reached over and began hooking the monitors back up as the code team rushed in.

"Maria, help me!" He said, throwing wires at her. The nurse needed no direction and quickly began hookig JJ back up to the numerous devices.

"JJ, I need you to stay with me, okay?" Ross said gently, his eyes glued to the monitors. The numbers coming back couldn't be correct- there was no way. But looking at JJ, Ross knew there was no mistake. What the hell had happened?

"Ross, her oxygen level is 78," Maria said, knowing what was most likely about on happen. She was nervous; this was not going to end well.

Ross nodded and looked back down at JJ; he knew what was about to happen before it did. He reached over and turned her head to the side, allowing JJ to vomit on the floor. As he held her, he felt the raging fever. How the hell had this happened so quickly? "JJ, c'mon," He pleaded as she continued to vomit.

The code team had arrived- all were busy doing their assigned tasks, drawing labs, preparing medications. And then it got worse.

JJ cried out in pain and suddenly, violently, began shaking. Her head throwing back and forth, nearly colliding with the metal rail. Her eyes having rolled back in her head as she bit down hard, her body seizing violently.

Quickly and expertly, the team went to work. Morgan watched in horror as more and more staff surrounded JJ's bed, as more alarms began sounding as the voices of the staff became higher, louder and more demanding. He could see her body, see her still seizing despite numerous doses of medication. He watched, unable to move or help as the crisis continued, as her condition continued to deteriorate.

And then two more men ran in, both in surgical garb. They began shouting medical terms over each other as horrific sounds rang throughout the room. And suddenly, Morgan was being forced out. A kind nurse was pulling him out and away as Morgan heard the sound he never wanted to hear. The monotone beep that signaled her heart had stopped beating.

And he collapsed against the ICU wall; he had failed JJ again.


	40. Chapter 40

**AN: WOOHOO, double update! I am traveling for the next few days so I probably cannot update for a bit! PLEASE review, yall have no idea how much it helps me!**

Ross watched in horror as his patient's condition went from bad to worse to life threatening in the span of a minute. She had started seizing and nothing they were doing was stopping it. They had overloaded her with medication and he was hesitant to dump anymore chemicals into her system. Especially considering he had no idea what was going on.

JJ's neurosurgeon had been paged and had joined to throng of people working on JJ. He looked as stressed as Ross felt. And both doctors knew, without saying a word, that something had gone very wrong, very quickly. The surgeon stood with his hand over his mouth, watching the monitors report back JJ's decreasing vitals; watching as the seizure continued. Watched as the nurses worked to try and keep ahead of her declining condition; worked to keep their beloved patient alive.

They were dreading water; hardly keeping their heads above the water. Everyone had their hands somewhere, doing this or that, reporting back critical information.

More specialists had joined, Dr. Cruz, the chief of medicine at the hospital, had been alerted and had entered the fray.

"What happened?" She commanded, seeing the dire straight their patient was in. She had been following Agent Jareau's case, had gone to court with Agent Hotchner, had been thrilled at the miraculous recovery. And now this. "Do we have labs back on her yet?" She took over the room, everyone knowing she was in charge.

"Right here, Dr. Cruz," a nurse handed over the lab results.

Cruz's eyes went wide. "Ross, what the hell happened?" She dropped the labs and went to her patients side.

Ross didn't respond; he was watching the clock, watching as the seizure continued. It was going on nine minutes; nothing was stopping it. They were running out of options. And as Maria pushed one more round of the drug, Ross watched as the seizure slowly stopped, the shaking coming to a near complete stop.

And then her heart stopped. He acted quickly, expertly, as a team. JJ's bed was laid back completely, she was flat on her back and as a nurse started CPR, Ross bent JJ's head back, hoping to be able to intubate her; the medication had paralyzed her, stopping her breathing. Without hesitation, Ross slipped the tube down her throat and Maria reached over, placing a bag over the tube, forcing much needed oxygen into JJ's lungs. And everyone hoped, watched and prayed, hoped that she would stabilize.

And it didn't happen.

"JJ, c'mon, sweet girl." Maria said softly. "C'mon baby, this fight isn't over." She urged, tears budding in her eyes.

Instead, the monitors continued to wail; there was no heartbeat, no pulse. No nothing. The room was chaotic and loud, but calm and quiet. Everyone waiting for instructions as they continued life saving measures on their patient.

Ross looked around, tears were present in many eyes; everyone thinking the same thing. How had they gotten here? What had they missed? Because their patient, their patient they were so proud of, their patient they now considered family was dying. Actively dying in front of them, despite every medical intervention they could throw at her. Her labs were a mess, her vitals were horrific, she was showing that she was now unable to maintain her airway; and she had seized. A massive seizure. It was her neurosurgeon who had voiced his concern that the pressure in her brain was mounting; that she needed emergency neurosurgery.

It was the infectious disease specialist who was voicing her concern over the amount of blood JJ was losing with no known cause.

And it was Ross who made the call; the last ditch effort to save JJ's life.

"I am so sorry, JJ!" He said softly as he brought the sternal saw down on her chest; cracking her chest open in order to reach her heart. To try and start her heart internally. To massage her heart by hand. It was their only option left.

With JJ's chest open in front of him, Ross grabbed the internal defibulator and said a quick prayer before sending a wave of electricity directly to her heart. And nothing happened. And he tried again and again and again. To no avail.

"Ross…" Ross looked up to see the neurosurgeon looking at him sympathetically and shaking his head. "Its over."

"Not yet." Ross refused, not ready to give up.

"Ross, don't do this to her, don't." The surgeon pleaded. "Let her go." He urged, seeing that their patient had been without a pulse for nearly half an hour.

Ross shook his head, but knew his coworker was correct. JJ was gone. And he held the tool in his hand as he looked down at her, her pale face. He closed his eyes, praying for guidance, for peace on what to do. And then it hit him, he recalled what Agent Reid had informed him about the information on the chip, how JJ had stopped breathing multiple times and how a unique combination of drugs had restarted her heart. How Reid had explained to him how the combination appeared to counteract the chemical that had caused her heart to stop

And while it was risky, it was his last chance, it was JJ's last chance. And taking a deep breath, Ross shouted out a combination of drugs to give. The drug combination JJ's captors had given her.

Nobody argued, and Maria pushed the combination, not questioning the doctor.

And within seconds of the combination being administered, they watched in amazement as her heart slowly began beating again.


	41. Chapter 41

**AN: Lots of author's notes here. Prepare yourselves:**

 **1\. I am not a professional author, I make mistakes. I have no wishes to ever have anything I write be published. This is for fun, a hobby, please don't take the joy out of that for me.**

 **2\. This story is SY-FY, meaning weird crap happens. Weird stuff that wouldn't happen in 2019.**

 **3\. I am FULLY aware JJ would not survive these injuries; in reality, JJ would probably have never made it to the ER. Here again, I reference SY-FY and also my complete lack of medical knowledge. The ONLY knowledge I can think on is from watching ER back in high school. I am well beyond high school at this point.**

 **4\. IF you want to flame me about this story, at least sign in and leave a review. I actually DO reach out to people if they leave a mean review so I can listen to them and try and fix what they perceive as wrong. HOWEVER**

 **5\. THIS IS NOT A SHORT STORY. I do not write where JJ is hurt and then suddenly is all better. It won't happen. If you don't like how my story reads or if its too long, I don't take offense but you do not need to read it.**

 **6\. I apologize for the delay in updating. I was traveling and came home and received a lovely concussion from a freak accident.**

 **7\. I do love your reviews :)**

Leaff sat in the cell, a smile plastered across his face. It had taken a few days longer then expected, but it had happened. He knew it had. Because why else would he be woken up in the middle of the night and dragged into an interrogation cell?

So he waited, patiently, knowing his ticket to freedom was coming soon. Knowing that the FBI would have no choice but to release him; at least if they wanted their friend to live.

He wasn't sure how long he had been waiting, but soon heard footsteps coming down the hallway, angry voices, demands. And seconds later, the door flew open and in walked three agents he had interacted with before.

And it took everything in Leaff not to double over laughing. "Well hello, agents!" He said joyfully, "What do I owe the pleasure?" He could see their expressions, saw that the poker faces had melted away, saw anger, frustration, fear- all of written all over their faces. "I would shake your hands but well…ya know.." he wiggled his wrists to show the cuffs.

Not one of the three agents spoke, all just stared at him, and Leaff laughed. "Ah, I'm going to guess our girl isn't doing so well right now, is she?"

"Her name is Agent Jareau; she isn't anyone's girl." Morgan replied calmly, trying not to lunge at the man in front of him.

Leaff rolled his eyes, "What do you want? I'm tired and I'd like to get back to sleep."

"You know why we are here," Hotch growled.

Leaff smirked and leaned back in his chair as far as the cuffs would allow it. "I do?" He laughed. "I warned you agent, I told you what would happen at our last meeting and you didn't believe me." Sighing, Leaff sat forward again. "I told you she was fucked up, did I not? I gave you the information…"

"Do. Not. Play. With. Me." Hotch hissed, sitting directly across from him. "If she dies…"

"No Agent Hotchner; if you don't play by our rules, it's no longer an if, but a when. When she dies. If she dies depends on if the FBI cooperates with us." The room was silent, the tension palpable.

"Why should we believe you?"

"Why shouldn't you? Everything I have told you so far has been correct? Not only that, you have been able to prove it. I even told you she would stabilize and then crash, I am guessing that is why you are here?" There was silence. "So it is why you are here,"

"What happened to her?" Morgan said, desperate to know what had caused his friend to collapse.

Leaff raised his eyebrows at Morgan, "Agent Hotchner over here has already threatened me multiple times; nothing you can threaten me with will do a damn thing. You want her to live, you let me walk out of here. Free."

"It won't happen." Hotch snarled. "You will never leave this prison."

"Then she dies. It's really that simple."

"Agent Jareau is in grave condition; the chances of her survival right now are…"

"None." Leaff interrupted. "Let me tell you that right now. Her chances of survival are none." He watched as the reality hit them. "But you already know that don't you? You know she is catastrophically injured and ill, you know she cannot survive. So why are you here?"

"We know the chemical you were using altered her DNA, rewired her system." Reid spoke for the first time. "We know you know what that chemical is that can counteract whatever is being done to her system."

"Very good, Agent Reid. I'll give you some help here because I am feeling generous. Let me guess what happened here. She was doing well, able to maintain her airway; she was stable and talking." All three agents hearts sunk into their stomachs as Leaff described exactly what had happened. "Then, she may have had some episodic pain; lets be real, that woman is in a hell of a lot of pain. All the time. She just wont show it. Maybe she started coughing, couldn't take a deep breath, blood started spewing." He listed off the complications one by one. "And now, I can only guess, she is back on a ventilator, she's probably had a seizure and her bloodwork is abysmal." He chuckled. "how close am I to that?"

Nobody spoke, nobody said a word. "How do we correct it?" Hotch said.

"You don't. Mr. FBI, I do." He laughed again. "Like I said earlier, you want her to live, I walk free."

Hotch chewed his lip. "it won't happen."

"Then start planning her funeral. Because if she doesn't get that drug in the next two to three days, she's dead." He smiled, meeting each one of them in the eye. "And want to know a little secret?" Leaff leaned in closer. "This is not a one and done thing. This will happen for the rest of her life; and only I have the key to her survival. You misstep once, and I refuse to give the antidote."

"once we have it, we have it." Morgan fired back.

"No sir, it doesn't work like that. It constantly changes, every time there is a new chemical makeup that she needs to combat the symptoms. To save her life. You want that chemical combination, you pay up. You don't pay, she dies. Think of it as a biochemical hostage situation."

Reid stepped forward again. "You never meant to kill her, did you?" The realization dawned on him.

"I wouldn't go that far; if she died, it wouldn't have been any skin off my nose. But she kept defying the odds and it morphed into this. We could hold the FBI hostage for years to come by holding their agent hostage and we would never have to touch her again. If you decide to pursue us, charge us or arrest us, your agent suffers. And it won't be an easy death agents; and we get to keep doing this, time after time." Leaff laughed again. "Maybe it's a good idea to just let her go; after all, why keep putting her through this." And he paused. "And then you cannot touch me for murdering a federal agent, because that is on your consciousness. You chose not to listen to me- her death is on your hands."

Hotch stared at him, not knowing what to say. His agent was dying, and her odds of survival were meniscal. "You will not leave my custody."

"You know what we did Agent Hotchner? For the sheer hell of it? She planned her funeral. Too bad you cannot talk to her to ask her what she wanted. But I can tell you if you want. Or. There'll be no need for it because she'll survive. Its your decision Agent Hotchner." Leaff smiled broadly. "And tick tock."


	42. Chapter 42

**AN: I so apologize for this delay. I sustained a concussion about two weeks ago and thought I would be fine. I went to my primary care who saw the report from the ER and instantly referred me to an ENT. Thank goodness for the concussion as the CT caught something else. I will be find but have to have surgery tomorrow. To say I am exhausted is an understatement; it took me four hours to write this chapter and it is only two pages long. I will update when I can. Just know I did not abandon this story; I just have some significant health issues to address right now.**

Will sat in the ICU room; his head in his hands as the social worker sat next to him. She was kind and soft spoken, patient and empathetic. And somehow, Will did not know how, she was able to maintain her professionalism.

All throughout the day, staff had been in and out of the room; the staff that had treated JJ before, had watched as she had seemingly beat insurmountable odds, had joked and laughed with her as her recovery had begun. The staff that now walked in with sadness apparent in their expressions; Maria who had hugged Will tightly as she rubbed his back and wiped tears from her eyes.

And Ross. Ross who had done everything he could to try and save her life. Ross who was not ready to give up just yet but knew deep down, the fight was lost. He had seen JJ come back from certain death a few months ago, but this was different. Her body didn't have the strength; they didn't have the medicine. They didn't have a chance. And now, it was cruel to keep her in this state; to keep her alive when they knew it was a lost cause.

Four days after JJ's condition had spiraled, Ross had sat with Will and the social worker. They had spoken about JJ's chances, if, by some miracle she survived, what her life might look like; they spoke about any options. And after talking for nearly two hours, Will had looked up at Ross and shook his head.

"I won't let her live like this, not in this condition. She wouldn't want this."

And with a shaking hand, he had signed the DNR.

And now it was just a waiting game.

Waiting for the JJ to turn that last corner. And Ross had said it could be any second. They were simply waiting.

"Will, did you hear me?" The social worker asked, snapping Will out of his trance.

"No. No, I am sorry, I didn't," he replied honestly, taking JJ's hand in his own. She didn't squeeze back.

"That's okay. Agent Hotchner just arrived. Your son is here. Do you want me to talk to Henry?"

Will looked up and shook his head. "No, he is my son. I want to do it."

The social worker nodded her head, "Okay; we have a play therapist on staff to help if needed."

Will nodded again before standing up and bending over JJ. "I'll be right back; Henry is outside and he wants to see you."

Will took a deep breath and headed outside the small room; he was blindsided as a small torpedo ran full force into him, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"Daddy!" Henry jumped into his arms and wrapped his own arms around Will's neck. "I missed you!" He smiled, refusing to let go of his father.

"I missed you too, buddy." Will whispered, rubbing his son's back as he held him tightly. "Henry, let's go for a walk."

And Will held his son as they walked down the hall together, paced up and down, he spoke softly; trying to explain the delicate situation.

"Mommy is going to heaven?" Henry pulled away from his father.

"Yes son, mommy is going to heaven." Will replied, desperately trying to hold back his own tears.

"When?" Henry laid his head back on his father's shoulder.

"I don't know, soon though. It maybe tonight or tomorrow."

The two remained silent as they walked the ICU halls; each comforting the other.

"Dad?" Henry spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "Mommy will always watch over us when she goes to heaven; I'll take care of you, daddy."

And all Will could do was hug his son closer.


	43. Chapter 43

**AN: Hi! So sorry for the delay! Work has been insane, I am finally feeling better and ready to continue this story. I am going to say this again, this story is long but it is coming to an end soon :)**

 **Remember: science fiction, I am not a medical person and I write for fun. Yes, it has bounced back and forth, but if you want to know what is going to happen, just send me a PM and I will tell you. Please review!**

Hotch took a steadying breath as he stood once again in the interrogation room, his back to the wall. Reid was with him.

They were out of options. JJ was dying. The DNR was signed and Ross had warned them that it could be anytime now.

And yet, JJ was still fighting. Still defying astronomical odds. But it couldn't continue forever. JJ's forever was coming to an end; too quickly. Too violently. Too horrifically. And there was not a damn thing Hotch could do about it; not with all the power he had, not with his badge and gun, not with Reid's intelligence.

Reid. Reid and Ross who had spent countless hours looking over JJ's lab work, the chemical compound, research; anything and everything and coming up with nothing. They had nothing.

No. They had one option left. And it destroyed Hotch to even consider it. But it was this, this one last shot, or watching JJ die. He had to swallow his pride.

"Agent Hotchner?" Hotch's head shot up at the sound of the guard's voice. "He is refusing to come see you; won't leave his cell."

Hotch stared at the guard. "Then drag him in here."

The guard looked down, "Our policy…"

Hotch's temper shot up and he pushed passed the guard. "Take me to him. I don't have time for him to have a temper tantrum, my agent is dying." The guard nodded and motioned for Hotch to follow him down the noisy hallway.

Hotch was silent as he walked towards the cell, wanting to pound the sad excuse of a man into a pulp.

"Well…well… well," Leaff's voice sent anger through Hotch's bloodstream. "I knew you'd come back." He sat up and stretched. "Are you ready to let me go."

Hotch didn't say a word for a few seconds. "I will talk to the prosecutor about a reduced sentence if…"

"No. Agent. You drop the charges and I walk out of here a free man."

"I cannot do that."

Leaff settled back into the bed and put his hands behind his head before sighing. "Then this conversation is over."

"I need to know what to give her." Hotch replied. "To save her life."

Leaff smiled. "Agent, I have zero incentive to give that to you. You can threaten me all you want with life in prison, death penalty. Whatever. Or you can sign my release papers and let me walk out of here a free man and have the cure in your hands." He paused for a brief moment. "So, in simple terms. Does she live or does she die? Her life is in your hands."

Hotch stared at him. "You give me the cure and I will let you walk out of here."

"Not a chance agent; you and I walk out of here together. I will administer the dose and then you will let me walk out of that hospital a free man."

Hotch bit his lip as Reid came to his side. "Hotch, Ross just sent me a text." His voice broke for the briefest of moments. "JJ's vitals are critical right now, Ross said we need to get back immediately."

Hotch nodded, then turned back to Leaff. "You'd better not be lying to me."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ross stared in disbelief as Hotch told him what was happening. Stared as Leaff was led into JJ's hospital room, in handcuffs. A smile plastered to his face.

"Hello beautiful, long time no see." He cooed as he saw JJ.

"Don't talk to her, don't touch her." Morgan hissed; hating that they were in this position. "Do what you need to do, give her the medication and get the hell out."

"Temper temper, Agent Morgan." Leaff laughed. "You do understand that this will be an ongoing issue; you'll be forever begging me to save her life. Do not under estimate that. You don't play ball she ends up right back here. I give you the antidote, tell you how to administer it, and you release me from this hospital. If anyone follows me, the deal is off and you will never get another antidote. Do we have an understanding?" Leaff smiled, enjoying every second of control he had over the FBI.

Hotch looked him in the eye, "What does she need?"

Leaff turned to Ross and Reid; "You'll need to give it in three doses, approximately twenty-four hours apart." He went on and explained the chemical makeup of what Ross needed, the dosage and how long to inject the medication. "First dose you'll need to give over a period of five minutes, second is ten and third is fifteen. That's imperative."

Ross raised his eyebrows as he looked at the chemical compound that Leaff had described. "This isn't… this can't…"

"Try it; give her the first dose while I am standing here. Watch her start to stabilize."

"This is over three days; how do we know the last dose won't kill her." Ross spat.

"You aren't going anywhere until we know this works." Hotch growled. "You didn't tell us it was in three doses."

"Whatever agent, it'll give me time to plan where I want to go." He licked his lips. "Go ahead, doctor. Give it to her and watch what happens." Leaff backed up and sat down in a chair, smiling as how uncomfortable everyone was.

Ross looked to Reid and Hotch, waiting for their confirmation. Hotch looked to Reid who only nodded.

It was now or never.

Half an hour later, Ross returned with multiple syringes and drug combinations. And as he began injecting the medications, the room went quiet. And as he sent the last bit of the last drug into his patient's system; his eyes immediately went to the monitors.

Leaff had said instantly, they would see something instantly.

And less then thirty seconds later, he proved himself correct. Her vitals, that had been critical just minutes earlier, started stabilizing, started heading in the right direction.

Leaff had given them the key.


	44. Chapter 44

**AN: There is ONE more chapter after this; and then a sequel. I want to be very honest with my readers, most of you know I have severe PTSD and I am not doing well at all right now. Writing does help me, so my chapters maybe dark. Please don't think I am an evil person, a messed up person, or anything like that. Writing is my only coping mechanism right now. And yes, I pick on JJ. I cannot write happy if I cannot feel happy; please understand that. Writing helps me. Thank you for your support for this story, I know its been long one; the sequel move faster and have much more JJ involvement. Please review and thank you!**

 _"_ _Hey, hey, it's okay. You know how this works now baby girl," Leaff's voice spoke into JJ's ear, holding her tight against his own body as Doc approached with a large needle. "We have to give you the antidote." His strong arms wrapped easily around her, pulling JJ closer to his chest as he rolled up the sleeve on her hospital gown. "Why are you so scared, honey? Where is this coming from?" Leaff grabbed a damp cloth and gently traced it across JJ's forehead, wiping away the sweat._

 _"_ _I don't want this…" JJ struggled._

 _"_ _Baby girl, you know if you don't get this dose, you will die." Leaff whispered, holding her arm steady as Doc sunk the needle under JJ's skin._

 _She gasped in pain, hating the burning sensation as it traveled throughout her body. "Then let me!" She screamed at Leaff; hating the men. Hating what they were putting her through. "Then let me…" And she broke down in tears, crying as the needle was withdrawn. She couldn't move as Leaff brought her shivering body into his grasp, hugging her as sobs rattled her frail body._

 _"_ _She'll be out in a few minutes," Doc explained, snapping off his gloves. He came behind JJ and stroked her hair, watching as her eyes began to close. There was silence for a few minutes as JJ collapsed against Leaff's chest; both men silent as they watched her sleep. "Do you understand the plan?" Doc spoke._

 _Leaff nodded, "Yes." He hated this, hated what was about to happen. Slowly, he stood up and carried JJ over to the procedure table, laying her gently on her side. Confident that she was asleep, he reached over and removed the gown before securing her to the table. It was critical that she did not move during this procedure._

 _Clyde stepped in, medical equipment in his hands as Doc put on his surgical gear. "You can step out now," Clyde ordered Leaff._

 _JJ was aware, was aware of the men speaking, talking. Was aware that she was restrained to a table and that she couldn't move. Her eyelids felt like lead and she couldn't force them open. She was on her side, her backside exposed to Clyde and Doc. She had no idea what was about to happen, but knew it was about to be another painful procedure, and she braced herself for it._

 _"_ _I think this will be part of the end; will reverse everything." JJ heard Clyde's voice say softly. "I cannot guarantee it, but it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work, it won't harm her. Well, the chemical compound won't…" There was a pause. "Are you sure you want to do this? The complications of this are…."_

 _Doc growled at Clyde. "I've done a spinal tap before, she's no different."_

 _"_ _Yes, but you are using a larger needle and taking spinal fluid and replacing it with something else. You could paralyze her…"_

 _Doc laughed, "then so be it."_

 _JJ felt something cold wipe a spot on her back, on her spine and she jumped._

 _"_ _She's fine," Doc said, acknowledging the movement. "Just an effect of the meds I just gave her." There was the clanking of medical tools and JJ tensed, knowing what was about to occur. They had never done a spinal tap on her before, but she had no doubt it would be excoriatingly painful. And when she felt hands on her back, she knew what was coming next. But it didn't prepare her at all for the amount of pain. And as the large needle pierced her skin and entered her back, JJ screamed and thrashed, causing Doc's hands to slip as the needle punctured vital structures._

Hotch sat next to JJ; relieved that her condition continued to improve following the instructions Leaff had left for them; JJ had opened her eyes hours after the third dose. Just as he had promised. And as much as he hated it, despised it, Hotch had had no choice but to release Leaff.

The man had smiled the entire time as Hotch explained what was happening, had told them that they had to hear from him every Monday for the foreseeable future and Leaff had agreed. He had agreed to continue sharing the vital medication instructions as long as he never saw the FBI touch him.

They had no choice but to trust him.

And Leaff had disappeared a free man.

There was no justice for JJ.

But the team refused to give up, and while they could not go after Leaff for now, their new target was Doc. And their entire focus was on him; but like Leaff, he seemed to have vanished into thin air. They were stuck; and right now, they had to focus on JJ.

Because for the first time, Ross had started talking about her going home. And the care JJ would need outside the hospital was astronomical. She would need 24/7 care; she would need to allow someone to touch her. And Hotch knew the only people she would allow to do that, were the ICU team.

It was a no win situation, a constant cycle of chaos.

And there was no end in sight. This would continue. And while it was hell for the team to work through, he couldn't imagine how JJ was coping.

Hotch took a deep breath and looked down and saw his agent thrashing in bed, another nightmare. "JJ, I'm here," Hotch said softly, taking her hand in his own. At his touch, JJ shot up in bed and turned to the side, vomiting all over the floor.

"Hotch," She whispered, her voice weak. "I want to go home…"

And all he could do was nod. It was time for JJ to go home.


	45. Chapter 45

**AN: I had no idea that I had not updated this story in almost two months! Wow! Time flies. Okay, this is the last chapter of this story- PLEASE let me know if you would like a sequel. If not, no worries. This chapter was hard to write but it is what it is. I finally found out that I have a different form of PTSD called complex PTSD and that has been a relief; it helps me understand what is wrong with me. Thank you all for your support.**

Hotch sat in his office, his eyes unmoving as he stared out his large office window. Three weeks, JJ had been home for three weeks. Well, home was relative; she was in a rehab facility that was five minutes away from him. And he had to remind himself hourly that she was safe. JJ was safe…but was she?

He had reassured her many times over that she was, that he was there to protect her. That Reid, Rossi, Emily, Will, Morgan, they were all there. She was safe. But he knew those were just words; they all knew time was ticking.

Because Leaff had vanished, seemingly into thin air. And they had not a clue as to his whereabouts. Doc had never been found and Hotch had started to doubt if he ever existed. But JJ seemed adamant that there was a man named Doc, that he had been in charge of the entire operation; she had been able to describe him, his characteristics, his demeanor, description, his speech pattern. She had been able to sit with a sketch artist and she had done one hell of a job; but despite every effort they had, Doc was a ghost.

JJ's case was their priority, they had to stop these men from doing this; Hotch had no doubt they would continue doing it. JJ apparently had not been their first victim and Hotch knew she would not be their last; men like them simply did not just stop.

Hotch took a deep breath and turned to sit down at the large desk, numerous pages littering the top. All of it, the thousands upon thousands of pages sprawled everywhere, all belonged to JJ's case. Everything from her initial disappearance and the events leading up to it, to interviews with witnesses, suspects, her family and doctors. There were copies of news and media releases regarding her disappearance, there were photos of the scene, audio recordings of Morgan's recall of what had transpired that fateful day. Then, then came the medical records of an unknown women being found barley alive outside the ER; there were more pictures and lab results and more interviews.

And through the thousands and thousands of pages, there was nothing that could give JJ justice. There was nothing that could restore her health, her physical and mental health, there was nothing that could guide them into what might come next.

Because Hotch had accepted it, had finally accepted it. Leaff was not lying; he had not lied to them before. JJ was still in danger; her body would shut down again and it was only a matter of time. It had been six weeks since they had almost lost her again, Hotch wasn't willing to gamble his pride for her life; and so he kept his phone on all the time. Waiting for the call that would save JJ's life. Again.

Because they couldn't do it. The men who had done this to JJ, who had ripped everything from her, were the only ones who could save her life. And it killed him to know this, to accept it.

JJ was improving, doing exceptionally well. She was able to breathe on her own, and speak in a few sentences at a time; she was able to stay awake for longer periods of a time and had recently started drinking from a cup with the help of her occupational therapist.

Her physical therapist pushed JJ hard, encouraging JJ to learn to use the wheelchair. And Hotch knew this was where JJ was struggling; and while she had not voiced it, Hotch understood. JJ had been told numerous times that her chances of ever walking again were slim, that her chances of returning to the FBI as a field agent were even slimmer.

But JJ was determined and every time she was reminded of her odds, JJ would shake her head and vow to do the seemingly impossible. And all Hotch could do was encourage her. He had tried to help her once in her wheelchair and she had slapped his hand away; she refused to allow anyone to push her.

And JJ was fighting, she was fighting hard.

But she refused to see a counselor, refused to talk about what had occurred to her beyond the initial interviews. And while her physical health was improving, Hotch had noticed her mental health declining. The flashbacks and nightmares, the hypervigilance and avoidance were present- her PTSD was becoming more and more severe.

As her physical health improved, her mental health declined.

And yet again, Hotch was stuck.

JJ needed her independence, she desperately needed to have control over something. Anything. And she was capable of making her own decisions; so, for the time being, it was agreed not to press JJ on seeing a therapist.

Taking a deep breath, Hotch looked back down at the papers, at everything his agent had survived, and silently made a promise. "JJ, we will get them."


End file.
